Does it feel like the fediverse is exclusively used by older tech nerds?

The mastodon and lemmy content I’m seeing feels like 90% of it comes from people who are:

  • ~30 years old or older
  • tech enthusiasts/workers
  • linux users

There’s nothing wrong with that particular demographic or anything, but it doesn’t feel like a win to me if the entire fediverse is just one big monoculture.

I wonder what it is that is keeping more diverse users away? Is picking a server/federation too complicated? Or is it that they don’t see any content that they like?

Thoughts?

kool_newt,

There’s always a group on the forefront, it makes sense that it’s tech interested people Fediverse being based on open source software and all about sharing means it’s right p Linux user’s alley.

The 30+ demographic not sure, maybe just people a bit grown up and now under as much peer pressure to be on the more popular corporate platforms.

silencioso,
  • ~30 years old or older
  • tech enthusiasts/workers
  • linux users
  • hates Elon Musk
  • hates capitalism
  • loves free software but somehow hates free markets
pewgar_seemsimandroid,

heh

qaz,

Currently interning as software engineer and typing this from a Linux machine. I’m Gen Z though.

theKalash,

Older? It seems the general lemmy population is in their early 20s.

khoi,

Hmm, not sure. But I’m in my 20s and I love to advocate for privacy and decentralization.

obinice,
@obinice@lemmy.world avatar

Woah now, who said people over 30 are old? 😮

Anyway, your average internet user in 2023 wants to sign in to a platform with ease (preferably using one tap sign in with their Facebook/Google/whatever account).

They also want that one platform to have everything, in an easy to access and digest format, without having to learn complex rules about how a system works.

The days of needing to understand a bunch of stuff to use the latest social media service are gone, and if we build a website/service that requires us to know and understand more complex stuff, and add more barriers to entry, and MOST IMPORTANTLY if we split it up in to a thousand little corners instead of having it all in one place? People will shy away.

Another issue is consistency. People, myself included, want consistency and accountability. I want the people running the platform to be publicly known figures/companies that are accountable for the platform and how they run it, but with this fediverse stuff, it can be run by any anonymous person, who could be doing anything with the private data in our account back ends. And that could be the case hundreds of times over, with all sorts of groups, from all around the world.

There’s no accountability, no way to ensure they’re meeting requirements of our laws. It’s all very untrustworthy and wild west.

That’s fine for some people, but the majority of normal users? They want security, they want safety, they want simple ease of use.

Die4Ever,
@Die4Ever@programming.dev avatar

(preferably using one tap sign in with their Facebook/Google/whatever account).

Kbin can actually do this, so no reason why Lemmy couldn’t

EliYeet,
@EliYeet@lemmy.world avatar

My 15 yo ass

vettnerk,

looks at self:

  • 40
  • nerd
  • chief amongst my nerddoms being tech

I feel both insulted and understood at the same time

zerkrazus,

There just needs to be automatic instance assignment for new users with registration time opt-out for those who want to choose. Pick whichever one is the most populated. If that’s down at that particular moment in time, pick the next most populated and so on. Take the instance picking out of the equation for people who don’t care about that. People who do care can still pick their own.

That being said, it’s difficult to grow a new website in general unless it’s already got established backing from other source (i.e. a large corporation, celebrity, etc.), It’s not like old days in the 90s when there were far fewer websites in general.

DirtyCNC,

Most populated? That would slow them down. join-lemmy.org already discourages instances above a certain size threshold.

wolfcatreader,

Trash culture, TikTok and the likes. The gen z folx I know don’t seem to prioritize privacy and quality content. Some know it and don’t seem to care even after getting hacked/scammed.

Living vicariously through influencers, likes, and whatnot. Being cool, blending in…

ProgrammingSocks,

Maybe I’m am outlier but I’m 21 and here.

Nerd02,
@Nerd02@lemmy.basedcount.com avatar

Same. And I’m also not a Linux user, I’m a Windows normie. Though I definitely do work in tech.

sdrawk,
@sdrawk@lemmy.world avatar

The Fediverse is the Linux of the social media world. Normal people don’t know it exists, but it will shape the inner workings of the platform(s) that will be popular in the future.

Hackerman_uwu,

Closest I’ve felt to BBS since, well, BBS.

wtry,

I’m a younger tech nerd, but I do use linux.

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