@pendragon Mastodon is PERFECT for socializing. That’s precisely what it’s for. (noooot so much arguably offensive porn-- make your account private for that)
But your friends need to move over for that to happen.
Not only is it hard to have critical mass shift platforms, but Twitter is engineered to be highly addictive.
Maybe if it fails more, or once Trump returns, or right-wing ads are no longer escapable.
🤷♂️ people love the path of least resistance rn; principles and integrity be damned.
@pendragon, so I won't be coy-- sounds like the people you miss are still addicted. There's little you can do about that. You can't control others' behaviors; you can only control your own.
When they're tired of supporting Twitter, they'll move here. Or not.
That doesn't mean you can't try to meet new or other people who share the same values that brought you here. (or away from Twitter.)
Tldr- problem isn't mastodon. It's addiction.
@pendragon If Chick-fil-a put cocaine in their batter such that it was literally addictive, that wouldn’t change the objective effects of spending one’s money there.
I get it. It’s not the fault of our friends. I’m not saying we should harshly judge one another’s behavior. But we also can’t pretend our behaviors can be divorced from their collective consequences.
It is possible to be upset, piteous, and supportive of those who /can/ see this pattern but /can’t/ seem to escape it.
@artfulreggie @pendragon Just jumping in here: I get your analogy, but I also think there's a difference between Chik-Fil-A cocaine sandwiches and say, Twitter.
For one, it's a lot harder to make a case for Twitter usage directly contributing to causes that alienate LGBQTIA friends -- especially since Twitter has enough critical mass that many people feel they *need* to be there for various reasons. With CFA, we know profits (directly generated from eating there) are doing just that.
The analogy is admittedly a concrete stepping stone.
Abstractly, Twitter is a complex system, and our participation has effects, no matter how difficult and complex of a process it is to quantify those effects. But just because the situation is complex and nuanced doesn't mean we can't, nay SHOULDN'T, have complex and nuanced thoughts and discussions.
@jakebe @pendragon Yes. Some people rely on Twitter to communicate during times of war and civil unrest when there are no alternatives. Some people rely on Twitter for their livelihood when it's too hectic and draining to find alternatives. And some people rely on Twitter to find titillating pictures.
Everyone's reliance and dependencies are unique, and we should interrogate what those dependencies are and why they are.
@jakebe @pendragon Ultimately we should ask ourselves how much of a choice it is to participate and if it is worth it.
And the answers to all these thoughts and questions will differ from person to person. But before every interaction and point of participation, we should /try/ to consider some of this and what other actions we can take for ourselves and help others.
I'm not saying not ditching Twitter is a flaw.
@jakebe @pendragon 'm saying that eventually, once sufficient evidence is presented to one (whatever amount or form that may be), NOT considering the moral and ethical implications of one's actions is... well, no bueno.
But I think conversations like this are evidence that some people are starting to consider the impact of their behavior (however complex and seemingly intractable that action might be). Which is a good thing :3
@artfulreggie @pendragon For another thing, Twitter (and any other social media that serves as a central digital square) isn't something you can just...quit if the bulk of your Internet social circle is there. It's much more likely to happen by degrees until there's enough critical mass to rally around an alternative.
We're just not there yet, but the migration is happening! Folks have all kinds of reasons for staying on Twitter for now. It's not always a personal or moral flaw.