Hadn’t realized how reliant upon Reddit I’d become for news and interesting things until after it turned to shit and I quit it. I’ve rediscovered RSS for ex., using reader apps to scan sources directly and read without all the noise—that actually came from someone’s recommendation here in the comments. I’ve found several new sites with deep, knowledgeable articles and discussions, like https://theconversation.com/us (free! No ads! Also discovered through the comments here), and my engagement with articles and their sources has gone WAY up. I’ve stopped reading garbage comment sections, too, and I’m just feeling better mentally as a result, disengaging from the endless, low effort memes/jokes and the mean, toxic comments*. Anyone else?
(Thanks again, admins—really enjoying and appreciating how Beehaw is run!)
I’m better informed, but I can’t say I’m happier. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. I’m frustrated by enshittification and embrace expand extinguish, idiotic and/or evil rightwing politicians and stuff like Musk wanting to implant chips into people’s brains. Before, I could go to /r/Eyebleach and other cute/pet subreddits or be entertained by tales from various industries, but those communities are still way too small in the fediverse, if they exist at all, and I end up on the main page even if I’m trying to de-frustrate.