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

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?

  • Freesoftwareenjoyer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    31·
    1 year ago

    The best thing that comes to mind is to maybe have some “special” instance (or just an application, kinda like what Mastodon’s Android app does - at least with the new update) whose purpose is to guide users through sign up and choosing an instance. I think this would kill two birds with one stone. Guiding users through instance-selection, maybe briefly explaining what an instance is and eventually pointing to more user-friendly docs, could already be much more manageable for everybody, and could feel like a more seamless experience, similarly to traditional social media.

    That’s a very good idea. The website https://join-lemmy.org could have something like that or we could make a new website for it.

    People are already adjusting to the decentralized services, but it’s possible that they will never become popular enough for most people to have to learn how to use them.