gallowsgryph | People leaving Mastodon (or even social media)

In light of the recent controversy on the Fediverse surrounding Fosstodon, I ended up seeing a number of people I follow through other means (blogs and other communities) pretty much give up and leave the Fediverse as a whole. I think only one or two were on Fosstodon, but the rest were almost unanimously tired of the constant drama and "forced nomad" nature of things like Fediblock campaigns. Several said they moved to BlueSky, but a majority just stopped with social media as a whole, much like I did a year ago.

Personally, I wish them all the luck and peace of mind in their attempt to detox from that place. It's not easy in the slightest, as all social media (yes, even the Fediverse) is addictive. It hits buttons in your brain to keep you locked in on it, even without dark patterns or an algorithm, and peer pressure—whether FOMO or just the threat of being excluded—is what draws many back into doomscrolling hell.

Even a year later, I still feel the effects of that can honestly be considered trauma caused by people on Mastodon. I can't speak for everyone, but dumping all social media—Twitter, BlueSky, the Fediverse, and even Twtxt—was the right solution. Even with how bad my stress is now due to my personal life, I would be in a much darker place if I had stayed. I'm not even sure my loved ones would have been able to pull me out of that hole in such a situation, and the thought of that terrifies me enough to never go back.

So to those leaving the Fediverse, good luck, and may your skies become brighter out from under that cloud of doom.