@jakebe I'm kind of in the "xennial" category, not quite a millennial, but this feeling rings true. Back then, I'd fire up IRC or a instant messenger the like, and freely chat with whatever folks were around. Nowadays... everyone's on proprietary services there solely to monetize IRC and instant messaging and everything feels fraught.
@ElectricKeet @jakebe I’m gonna completely third this, but I’m older than both of you, so I’m firmly in Gen X, even if I feel more millennial. But yeah, it’s almost depressing that what I used to do to escape is just… reality now.