i think accessibility is why lemmy has such an "Old Internet" vibe to it. there are probably a lot of people here that joined reddit over a decade ago (my account turned 11 this year).

that and, there's no reason to tie your real identity to your account. i think about the difference between lemmy and mastodon (aside from mastodon being like twitter). i look at mastodon maybe a few times a month, but when i do look at it, i see people using their real identities and posting as if it's a piece of their professional career

Putting your real name and face on the internet has always been a mistake

Not necessarily.

Something like Facebook is still useful for keeping in touch with extended family and social circles. I may not particularly care about great uncle John, but it's nice to be aware that he's in the hospital after a bad fall without that information going through 5 rounds of the telephone game.

Somewhere like Reddit or the fediverse? I would never want my real identity associated with these accounts. It's nice to have some anonymity.