@juergen_hubert Oh hello, I'm a teen! I honestly spend most of my social media time on the fediverse already. Most of my friends aren't interested though; their current social media is enough for them and they don't really care to try other things.

At one point our school shut down Google Chat, so I managed to get them all on Matrix[0], but we kinda abandoned that after a while. I still use it, but no longer with them.

As for getting them to spend time here - that's hard, they have no reason to. Most of them haven't realized how addicted they are to social media, haven't learnt about cybersecurity, data privacy, or any of the other things that bring most people here.

They also wouldn't care that there's no algorithm. The algorithm is what appeals to them on most platforms. It's why they're there.

The Fediverse is also more difficult to join and figure out. For instagram or TikTok, all you need to do is download the app, enter a username, email, password, and you're done. Here, you have to choose your instance, oftentimes apply for your account, and then set it up fully yourself, without an algorithm showing you things. On top of that, you can then choose the app you use (I'm writing this from Elk Canary[1]), and so it becomes overwhelming.

If you have ideas for simplifying it and making it easier, I'm open to hearing them. I'd love if some of my friends joined the Fediverse but it's hard to explain to people what it is, let alone convince them to sign up.

0: https://matrix.org
1: https://main.elk.zone

EDIT: I completely forgot to mention this, but most people my age don't care about text based media. Their short-form video content is enough for them. None of them have Twitter accounts, either, just Instagram and TikTok. Maybe a few of them would join the Fediverse, but most of them don't even care for text content.

#Fediverse #Matrix #Mastodon

@zm Good luck!

I think we should really have a website that serves as an introduction to the Fediverse which has been focus-tested with a group of teenagers. At the very least.

For all its faults, #Bluesky in the early phases understood marketing and outreach. The #Fediverse never really did - the basic attitude is: "If we build it, they will come". And that's why our Monthly Active Users keep hovering beneath a million, instead of growing.

(fedidb.com)

@juergen_hubert I'm not sure. #LGBTQ people get mostly attacked by young people. Often below 21.

And way to much bla bla bla here. Too few media. I guess TikTok is a good place for them.

@stylo_the_unicorn While I see your point, #TikTok is where they are radicalized into #fascists .

@juergen_hubert You don't become a fascist, if you don't feel the need to become one.

@stylo_the_unicorn

Of course people are ultimately responsible for their own choices.

But it's easy to see how young people who hang out with the wrong crows in their formative years become indoctrinated into fascism, especially since there are so many older people out there who are working hard on the indoctrination. I mean, I could easily see how it might have happened to _me_, in my younger days.

Just like legal systems in civilized countries do not hold youth fully accountable for their actions, neither do I. There absolutely must be consequences for embracing fascism, but the consequences must differ for young people whose brains have not been fully developed.

@juergen_hubert > we should really have a website that serves as an introduction to the Fediverse which has been focus-tested with a group of teenagers.

That sounds like a good idea. I may try making one, actually. If you (or anyone else) has websites I could use for inspiration, I'd love to see them, and maybe I could show it to a couple of my friends.

But also, like I said with my edit, most of them don't really care about text-based media. I'm willing to give it a shot though.

🌈 Maddy StyLo the Unicorn 🦄 This has real “I’m immune to propaganda enery,” and no tou ain’t.

@juergen_hubert Why do we need to break out of the demographic? I understand that appealing to a wider range of people is a good thing for any social network, but not sure there's a problem with the demographic we have already. If it was a "core demographic of 20-somethings" no one would see it as a problem, so to suggest it is when they're 40-somethings instead smacks of ageism.

@tokyo_0
_I'm_ a 40-something, and I'd like to have some more diverse representation on my feed.

Besides, I'd rather have the youngsters hang around here than on the platforms where all the Nazi influencers are.