andrea patrice

I’m finding that #Mastodon is helping me develop a more healthy approach to social media. The timeline doesn’t scroll forever (there’s a bottom!), & the feeds and filters mean there’s a few definite places I check for new interesting posts & then I’m done. Lots of discussion, often about hard & important topics, but no perpetual outrage that screams at me through the screen, & much less ‘both sides’ journalism that seeks to normalise the absurd & the untrue.

I log on, I share, I log off. Nice.

Nov 25, 2022 at 9:34amWeb
Show threadHilda bold & boobless 🌈Nov 25, 2022
@annedraya same. I'm enjoying the interactions, reading interesting posts, and not missing the drama of the birdcage, or experiencing FOMO. It feels much healthier.
Show threadCharlotte WalkerNov 25, 2022
@annedraya Same!
Show threadVicTheMacNov 25, 2022
@annedraya 100% agree!
Show threadjanestegerlewisNov 25, 2022
@annedraya yes! I hadn’t realised I must have become addicted to perpetual outrage. I’m feeling a bit healthier already.
Show threadAmber LoughNov 25, 2022
@annedraya I feel the same. It's at just the right pace to have actual deep conversation, and I'm learning things, too. I don't come away discouraged, like I do with other social media.
Show threadJane FanghanelNov 25, 2022
@annedraya I love NOT having suggested people to follow in my timeline based on what I last "liked" or tweeted. This place is so much more grown up.
Show threadDrFrascatoreNov 25, 2022
@annedraya I love that there’s an end to my feed! It’s so healthy!
Show threadKate BowlesNov 25, 2022
@annedraya I appreciate all of this too. It feels much more intentional. I browse slowly, read and think, and then photographers and other artists share things that really are worth looking at.
Show threadVirtualWolfNov 25, 2022
@annedraya @ljwrites Oh seriously, it was astounding how much of a difference it made back when I quit Twitter a few years ago and came here. I realised there wasn't the ever-present "Gotta refresh the timeline!" feeling lurking in the back of my head.
Show threadShrig 🐌Nov 25, 2022
@annedraya One of my favourite things each time there's a lot of newcomers arriving together here is watching them gradually form a healthier relationship with social media over the first few months and how their behaviour alters from being Extremely Online to Very Village Square
Show threadSarahNov 25, 2022
@annedraya I'm still chasing the dopamine but I'm hopeful that the chiller pace here will help with that.
Show threadUkraine Will WinNov 25, 2022

@froodie @annedraya I wonder, is our modern society already addicted to the dopamine rush produced by "winning" toxic interactions on other social media outlets?

Certainly our "News" sources are now completely a product of this dopamine rush. "Journalists" are hired and fired by how much dopamine they can generate on the internet, not for producing good journalism.

Anyway, this is a much chiller place and hopefully we'll all be getting better every day 🙂

Show threadSarahNov 25, 2022
@UkraineWillWin @annedraya I'm pretty sure I have ADHD so I'm definitely addicted on a personal level.
Tech/news etc is definitely designed to create that rush so it's hard to retreat from that rush without retreating from being online to an extent.
Show threadUkraine Will WinNov 25, 2022

@froodie @annedraya I had to look up ADHD, but my sympathies. I would guess the hyperactivity part of it would really kick in on these dopamine generating interactions. Wow, tough!

For news, I'm showing my age, but I prefer Walter Cronkite type of news. 30 minutes a day, and politics may get a 3 minute section at 20 minutes into the show. Now, its ALL politics over here in the USA. We're on the verge of WW3 and what are they talking about non-stop over here? Politics.

Show threadLeitmotif Productions Ltd 🎬🇪🇺Nov 25, 2022
@annedraya so much that… ands thanks to everyone who maintain these instances so we can have this nice place :-)
Show threadTrisha Lynn 🇵🇭 🇺🇸 🇨🇦Nov 25, 2022
@annedraya One thing I appreciated about switching to Mastodon and having to navigate a new environment is that it's made me even more reflective and intentional about what I share with the world, how I express myself, and which voices I realize are missing from my worldview. This, in turn, then helps inform and influence my values and adjusts my misapplied thinking.
Show threadBrisa (she/her)Nov 25, 2022
@annedraya I'm not there yet because I'm like day 3, but that sounds incredible, actually!
Show thread@aliciacollinNov 26, 2022
@annedraya Agree on all counts. I am trying to stop worrying I am missing something and remember that of course I am missing something, many somethings, and always have, because the world is a big and complicated place!
Show threadAndré Darmanin (he/him)Nov 26, 2022
@annedraya Interesting approach. 👊🏾