I’ve been trying to use Threads for a few weeks now, and I still can’t make sense of it. Most Threads posts are like empty calories and I couldn’t get any real substance.
It really felt like a digital town square. In that I don’t know anyone in the square. And those strangers talk about things I have no interest in. People seem compelled to reply to every post. Even if the replies are like “Hi!” or “😍”.
I thought it was because I wasn’t following enough people, so I followed more people. But nope, same thing. I thought it was the algorithmic timeline, so I made an app to switch the default timeline to Following. Then I see the same posts I’ve already seen on Mastodon.
If you reword your post into a question, the algorithm shows it to more people. If you include a link, it shows it to fewer. It feels like I’m being judged by the algorithm.
This reminds me a lot of real life, where you have to network to have a successful career. You have to “engage”. You have to “connect”. You have to “share”. And I hate that.
I’m a quiet person. I was born quiet. At best, I’m like Bocchi, doing weird things in my own little corner of the internet.
On Mastodon, I seldom reply to anything. I’m too scared to be seen as a reply guy. I star posts—it’s like the online version of a slight nod as acknowledgment. If I come across something that needs sharing (e.g. someone looking for a job), I click boost. (You can turn off boosts if you want to, you can’t do that on Threads or Bluesky.)
And I felt welcomed. Mastodon is more accepting of people like me. Actually, it accepts all sorts of people. And it’s fucking liberating.
