@JCPhoenix Frankly, when it comes to things like mitigating information overload and being able to choose your own content, I feel like it circumvents a lot of the issues people are having with social media like TikTok or Youtube recommending content that only a small portion of people like.

From what I can tell, it feels a lot more chill and less like you’re being overloaded with content and opinions because you can choose what you want to see out oof your own media experience

@JCPhoenix We also learned about information utopias and dystopias, where tools like social media contribute to negative and positive experiences as a result of their vitality in our lives. I also would love to get your thoughts on whether or not a website like Mastodon contributes to either the utopia or dystopia direction that social media is taking society.

@JCPhoenix Sure! So on platforms like TikTok and Twitter, they have kind of a homepage which contains content that the algorithms of the platform thinks the user will like. In class, we’ve been learning about how these types of algorithms can be influenced to provide certain content to do things like keep attention. Mastodon does not have a homepage (also called a “for-you page”) I was wondering if it had any affect on how you managed information overload on social media?

@JCPhoenix I see! Your answers are very helpful! One of the topics that I wanted to engage more with from my class was whether the for you page-less format of Mastodon helps contribute to any type of good/bad effect on information overload, and whether this kind of decentralization affected the argument that the internet is progressing to become an information utopia/dystopia.

I apologize for the long reply, but do you have any thoughts on this?

@JCPhoenix Thanks so much! Do you feel like in comparison to other, algorithmic social media like Bluesky and Twitter, the decentralization of mastodon allows you to avoid outcomes that might make those other platforms less attractive to you?