Benedikt Dec 1, 2024
Andrew Kelley

One thing I appreciate about Mastodon is that if I slip into a bad habit of scrolling through the feed too much in one day, I start seeing old posts that I've already seen, and then I realize that I'm doing a bad habit, and that helps me stop checking the site too often.

On other platforms they would do anything to prevent that moment of self-reflection from occurring.

Nov 30, 2024 at 8:03pmWeb
Show threadAnders StenbergNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Also helps against FOMO. You can eventually go "well now I've seen it all, let's do something else".
Show threadnilsmielke ⁂Nov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Same here. It is a blessing.
Show threadMostlyTatoNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk
Same here
Show threadgeoff martinNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk I’m already looking forward to scrolling down to this toot again tomorrow!
Show threadgeoff martinDec 1, 2024
@andrewrk made it!
Show threadAndrew KelleyDec 2, 2024
@ggmartin wb
Show threadtrusty falxter 🧠Nov 30, 2024
@andrewrk
Yes, I remember when I actually could scroll Facebook or Twitter until seeing old posts, and I hated, when they started to force me into infinite feeds.
Show threadNathan SchneiderNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Been there too many times
Show threadSablebadgerNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk that lack of doom scrolling is why I love mastodon
Show threadzenmorphNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk I’ve been dithering about on Bluesky and starting to indulge in that bad habit again. Following too many people. I appreciate a medium that helps me keep my online experience human scaled.
Show threadJohn Wilker 👨🏽‍💻Nov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Same and it's so refreshing. "Oh, I'm caught up." Close app.
Show threadRaffzahnNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Quite true, then again, that moment gets postponed more and more each day.
Show threadMaike KüperNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk so much this!
Show threadIsraelNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Good in a way, but also bad as well. I find it super hard to find people to follow on Mastodon and have an engaging feed. Usually I’ll find people on social media by coming across interesting people and then looking at the list of people they follow. On Mastodon you can’t see following lists unless you’re on same server. It’s a bummer. I had to just browse Mastodon.social on iPad while logged out and then search for people to add manually on iPhone app.
Show threadKim Possible Nov 30, 2024
@andrewrk It's what sends me back to my book or playing with the dogs. Like "Oh, I guess I'm caught up."
Show threadroyalNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk The illusion of infinity
Show threadMason Loring BlissNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Same with Friendica. I like that I can explicitly not have infinite scrolling. I can set a number of posts to see, and I stop once I hit the bottom and move on to a different category if I want to read more.
Show thread💡𝚂𝗆𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗆𝖺𝗇 𝙰𝗉𝗉𝗌📱Nov 30, 2024

@andrewrk
Counter-point (from someone who uses Mastodon primarily as a source of Tech news, with other follows in Lists)

The awesome thing about Mastodon (the web UI anyway) is you can walk away from it for hours, and it'll still be exactly where you left it (unlike the other place which would auto-refresh and send you back to the top), so first thing I do in the morning is scroll down to where I was last up to, and there's no rush to get to the top - come and go, it'll still be where I left it

Show threadCameron HayneNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk I don’t understand this. For me the newest posts on Mastodon are at the top. Initial position is at the last post that I had read. I scroll up to see newer ones. When I get to the top, I’m done. This is on the Ivory app on iPhone.
I wish there was a way to make BlueSky behave like this.
Show threadcatapult001Nov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Cool insight. I'm brand new to the platform and can already tell it's dramatically different from the more common platforms. Thanks for sharing!
Show threadFábio Pereira ✌🏼 🇵🇹Nov 30, 2024
@andrewrk the other sites have a thing called infinite scrolling, and that's really bad.
Show thread14missionNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk Yeah, it's basically telling me "not time to look at Mastodon yet, come back later."
Show threadDr Suzanne she/herNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk oh no! Was I supposed to be self reflective about that? 😬
Show threadFlorian SchmidtNov 30, 2024
@andrewrk
Yes, another thing that helps are bots that post hourly - be it photos of space, of cute animals, witty quotes or just the current time. If you come across the same bot too often, it's time to stop scrolling.
Show threadCamDec 1, 2024
@andrewrk yeah, I am seeing this as a positive as well
Show threadArch GremlinDec 1, 2024
@andrewrk 100% the best part of the Mastodon feed is that it eventually ends
Show threadGrae McDevit 🏳️‍⚧️ has movedDec 1, 2024

@andrewrk Yeah that's something that only something like Mastodon can do, because Mastodon isn't a platform.

Mastodon doesn't have a financial interest in keeping people on site for as long as possible to advertise like Twitter and Threads does.

Show threadNoah JinDec 1, 2024
@andrewrk mastodon does that for me too. I actually enjoy Mastodon more than Bluesky. Bluesky, I was dealing with too many bots on there.
Show thread@[email protected]Dec 1, 2024
@andrewrk Can't happen on anything ad-driven, since they have an incentive to make you keep going.
Show threadKucing OrensDec 1, 2024
@andrewrk same heree, i started to hate big social media company cause their influence our everyday lifes. world needs disperse social media for each region of the world
Show threadBjörn SchießleDec 1, 2024
@andrewrk beside the effect you describe, which I appreciate as well there is another important benefit: You can find stuff again. It happens to me so often on other networks that I see something interesting, scroll by or refresh (by accident) and the post is gone forever. There is no chance to find it ever again because it is completely random what is shown to you.
Show threadTed JohnsonDec 1, 2024
@andrewrk I know I've done the "too much scrolling" thing on Instagram when I begin to see nightmarish AI videos. Raw eggs from hell morphing into alien chestbursters vomiting vegetable soup. That kind of thing. "Time for bed," I say.
Show threadTed JohnsonDec 1, 2024

@andrewrk On my desktop, I use a free Chrome extension called Social Fixer which does a lot to make Facebook less shitty. One of the settings is that it will hit "bottom" after viewing a set number of posts – making me realize that I've been scrolling too long.

(Accidentally admit that I'm still using Facebook)

Show threadAndrew KelleyDec 3, 2024
@HalfHeartedFanatic you can't fix facebook, the only winning move is not to play
Show threadTed JohnsonDec 3, 2024
@andrewrk Before you criticize someones digital life, you must scroll a mile in their browser." - Native American Proverb
Show threadAndrew KelleyDec 3, 2024
@HalfHeartedFanatic I simultaneously stand by what I said, and respect your choices 🙂
Show threadTed JohnsonDec 4, 2024

@andrewrk And I don't disagree with your sentiment. In invest very little time in Facebook – but I do work in digital marketing (for good). The Social Fixer plugin basically thwarts the FB business model (somewhat) by sorting posts chronologically (defeating the "top posts" algorithm) and by hiding sponsored posts, games, and other enshittification artifacts I don't care to see.

BTW: My Mstdn instance (mas.to) blocks Threads accounts, and I'm totally fine with that.

Show threadJay HannahDec 1, 2024
@andrewrk I read all of (my) Mastodon feed once a day. I post randomly, but only read notifications when not in that window.
Show threadMarshall SutherlandDec 1, 2024
Maybe that explains why my wife can never find a post she previously read on Facebook.
Show threadenmodo ⚛️ 🧬 🇺🇦 🍉Dec 2, 2024
@andrewrk
I wish there was a "Mark all read" so I can tell when I've caught up.
@msbellows