I’ve been in a great mood for the last week. Like, so much so I’ve even noticed a couple times and thought to myself “wow, I’m in a really positive mood.” I’ve long minimized my use of social media and recently left that other site, interacting exclusively on Lemmy for my online community interactions.
I noticed my attitude of always being on guard whenever I say/comment/post anything here or IRL, expecting someone to roll through and light me up, has diminished and I’m generally feeling more confident and enjoying interactions both here but also IRL
I’m sure there’s more to it than simply an online community change but holy shit. Seeing the effect ebb into my real life is amazing. You always hear about the negative impacts of social media on mental health but to experience it in real time is something else.
The users seem less hostile here overall and I feel like I wanna engage again by either posting or commenting because it doesn’t seem to get lost. The other website might have become too big, it was either going “viral” or being ignored, no middle ground.
This is more similar to early reddit, thoughtful comments, generally helpful community-oriented people, interesting content.
I’ve definitely noticed that the community is nicer, so far. Everyone seems like they’re trying to be helpful and even when users disagree they do it in a constructive manner.
It feels like we turned back time on the internet, to a time where generally it was open, free, and not controlled and locked down to make a buck.
I’m enjoying it, and I find just generally browsing Lemmy to be a better experience, much less astro turfing here.
Yes, people are less hostile in general here, even when it comes to politics or religion. It’s wonderful to be able to have civil discussions online.
