Sometimes I think with nostalgia about my discovery of Mastodon, and how deeply immersed I quickly became. Oh, that amazing Toots, the wonderful people, the creativity. Alas, sitting in one spot reading and typing isn't the best activity for an optimal me, so instead of getting immersed in social media of any kind (or even online research), I generally avoid it. I like to think about the virtual encounters I've had over the years, wonder about the people and sometimes even check to see what's up
@EuphoriaLavender
A few days ago I realized I was starting to get a dopamine rush from Twitter. I immediately pivoted to Mastodon for good. There is no way I'm getting hooked on the cesspit that is Twitter, and Mastadon seems to have gotten busier in my absence.
Ooh, I'm a little behind. Sorry!
You know, your Twitter experience doesn't /have to be/ one of being in a cesspit--Mine definitely isn't. It's all about who you follow. It's really possible to curate your Twitter feed so there are only people and things that you want to see, though just staying away is also an option.
@EuphoriaLavender
Unfortunately, I liked to comment on active discussions on Twitter, and there's no way to avoid the awful parts then. It's one thing to have occasional ad hominem arguments show up, it's another thing when everyone in a thread is doing it, while agreeing with you, in reply to you pointing out someone else's ad hominem.
Twitter's small length limit and poor support for multi-tweet replies inhibit thoughtful, nuanced discourse and make poorly-thought out simplifications the path of least resistance. At least on Mastodon the default is longer and you can choose instances with longer limits.
@mathlover
Ah, excellent points. I guess I'd forgotten the main reason I rarely participate in discussions on Twitter anymore.