the worst, if you don’t count Gab and Truth Social
This is Not news for queer* people.
I am in this instance using “Queer” to mean an umbrella for all who are othered by society.
I’m telling you that people with lifelong chronic disability, people who are sex workers, and people who are dispropotionately targeted by the law enforcement or the state, AND disenfranchised casually in everyday society because of their appearance and/or melanin levels…All have networks of contacts they have relied on for over a decade in many cases.
It was easy for me to get off Twitter but for a lot of people I care about, it’d mean severing so many important bonds…and I just thought this sentiment is something that someone reading might apply too, as well
This sounds like a general issue of: if you’re at the margins of society, you’re going to have a bad time on social media. Social media is a distillation of the majority opinion on things (i.e. the most extreme versions of majority opinions), and if the majority is intolerant, you’ll get the worst of the intolerance.
For example, society’s general perception is that sex work is gross, so the most extreme view of that is that sex work is literally corrupting our kids, so you’ll get that kind of pushback on social media. A lot of people are uncomfortable with LGBT issues, so the most extreme form of that is attacking LGBT people. Unpopular opinions tend to get attacked, extreme forms of popular opinions tend to stay and get boosted (usually the extreme form is hidden 3-4 levels deep in a discussion thread).
Important to remind people that it’s not theoretical when we talk about it. It’s real human beings that are being scapegoated. It’s real abusers that get a smokescreen.
I 100% agree, which is a huge part of why I don’t engage much with social media. Lemmy is literally it for me.
I’m not in a marginalized group, I just refuse to engage with that nonsense. I don’t have any solutions for those who are impacted, other than try to build real-world connections with people. Maybe local meetups are a good option here, idk.
Good luck out there! Stay safe!
Thanks. Vest advice I have to any person looking to help, is dont just be a passive ally. Step up as an accomplice. When there’s a police protected parade of alt-right demonstrators, show them that they’re outnumbered. The SRA does a good job of that, as one example.
The other advice is that whatever space you exist in, be proactive in showing bigots that there’s no place at the table at your club.
To anyone reading: Just dont do nothing. You are as powerful as your solidarity.
A lot of science/research is just confirming things that seem intuitive
Oh ofc…and i wanted to use this moment to point out tge real-world outcomes that people are experiencing, because it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of perceiving it as solely hypoyhetical. (Nearly wrote it off myself as “well, itll be nothing but bots soon”…but im tryna illustrate it just aint that simple)
What’s there to complain about? I thought X was a chit hole for fascists, nazis, and right-wingers? Isn’t reddit good enough?
X is the worst social media
app for LGBTQ+ peopleFixed that for you.
Full stop indeed.
.
I have not been active on Zuck platforms or Twitter in over 10 years and it is highly recommended. I haven’t been on Reddit since the API changes killed Infinity app. Also recommended. Never touched TikTok or any of the zoomer social media platforms. Extremely recommended.
Amazingly if you just avoid the cesspit of constant engagement, regardless of your life circumstances, you will be happier.
Besides, most things that are genuinely funny or useful on Twitter just get screenshotted and shared via other means anyway.
I was an early beta tester for twitter. Didn’t “get it” then, and I still don’t “get it”.
I haven’t been on any Zuck platforms ever and left Reddit during the API mess, I also don’t use TikTok or LinkedIN and recommend to all leaving corporate social media.
Yeah I use tumblr occasionally but I just don’t like the “follow people” model of social media. Communities make for more interesting content in my experience. I’d rather discuss than merely consume and I don’t really care what someone who has great takes on lesbian discourse has to say about a manga I have no intention on reading unless it’s relevant.
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Twitter has never been great, just easy to use and widely adopted. It’s gotten worse under Musk and mostly appeals to the worst people left on the platform.
It had its moments. Back in the day I had all the libraries and park feeds in my area on it. Could just plan out my week with my kids in one spot. Yes I tried using a RSS reader but the websites weren’t as updated as the Twitter feeds were.
That’s a hot take in a world where Gab exists.
Gab is fucking irrelevant though
Then get the fuck off of it.
Seriously, it’s on you the longer you stay on that shithole platform. Despite all of the warnings. All of the things Musk has done. You’re still on it. Why? Besides member count, why? Why stick with something that actively hates you and works against your best interests?
“Because uh, muh friends…”
Get those friends off the fucking platform too. If they’re staying behind, consider getting new friends.
Mastodon and Blue Sky are better alternatives. Get the fuck off of X. Get some damn self-respect for once.
I feel like the type of person reading your comment on Lemmy isn’t the type of person that stays on a platform after it pulls shit they don’t agree with.
does an apartment count as a platform?
Blue Sky is like Twitter from 2011. You get yelled at and no matter what you care about you still get political posts.
Oof, the article goes on to say all the platforms failed. X just failed a bit more.
This is going to lead to some “well, they’re all about the same.” discourse shenanigans.
What did TikTok do better than the rest? Be annoyingly vertical and short form?
Governments told kids they shouldn’t use it. So it naturally became more popular.
Less accent on actual interactions between fellow consumers plus genZ prevalence?
I’m genuinely surprised something owned partly by the Chinese government isn’t at the bottom.
It drives conflict to the point that neither side of the political torus can speak to each other in a civil manner. “If his forces are united, separate them.” - sun tzu
On the Chinese only servers they forbsure don’t allow it
I’m surprised those scores are so high honestly
It’s fuckin hard being queer on social media
I gotta say, I am pleasantly surprised by Lemmy. I almost never see anything but antifascist allies, and when I do those allies jump that motherfucker’s shit.
Lemmy has it’s own dens of awful that simp pretty hard for dictators and some pretty shitty regimes
Luckily my instance is defederated from the worst one (IMO)
Lemmy is definitely a lot more accepting of queer people though which I really dig
Mastodon is pretty friendly.
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Sounds dope, never heard of it. Looks like it’s a dating site though? Never used one of those and have had a forever partner before they got popular, so I’m not sure it’s for me.
…I’ve also never used Twitter so I have no idea lawl
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Lgbt nation being surprisingly anti-lgbt by refusing to tell everyone the best social media website for lgbt folk.
Is there a ‘best social media’ for anyone?
Let me fix that for ya…
X is the worst social media app
for LGBTQ+ peopleNo wait…
X is the worst
social media app for LGBTQ+ peopleOh almost forgot…
XTwitter is the worstsocial media app for LGBTQ+ peopleThere were go.
X is the worst social media app. Ftfy
Meanwhile, Tumblr is (or was?) incredibly queer back when I used it. Where’s the love?
Reddit should have got a mention, but you know who really wins? Good ol’ Lemmy-- LGBTQ (especially T) representing here. Although that’s cheating cause we have blahaj, haha (not like the Fediverse will ever get mentioned, lol)
Just discovered mastodont recently, pretty good alternative too
