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
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)
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.
Actually, in my opinion, Xitter is the worst social media app for society, not just LGBTQ+ people.
“This thing that is terrible for everyone is also terrible for this specific subset of everyone …”
also rating social media apps is like rating your favourite STDs
Umm, does that include Lemmy?
I hope you used protection!
Message boards aren’t social media.
That’s good, that means my use is healthy
They could have left out, “for LGBTQ+ people” and it would have been just as accurate.
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.
Blue Sky is like Twitter from 2011. You get yelled at and no matter what you care about you still get political posts.
what the fuck is x? you mean Twitter
It’s always ok to deadname twitter.
Xitter
no that’s stupid
That’s the point. It’s stupid.
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.
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.
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
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.
On the Chinese only servers they forbsure don’t allow it
X is the worst social media
app for LGBTQ+ peopleFixed that for you.
Only the first 7
letterswords of this headline are needed.X is the w
*words hahaha
‘X is the worst social media app’ Period
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?
Which is? Blue sky? Mastodon? Lobste.rs?
Hmm. Pretty much for everyone else as well… It has become worse that youtube comments over there.
I am still over there occasionally, because some journalists whose updates I follow are only there. The worst part is that the more right wing trolls I block, the more seem to pop up.
Mastodon is pretty great for queer people. Better than lemmy I would say (and obviously better than the mainstream apps) …
Lemmy is probably the worst social network in terms of discrimination against Windows users.
Removed
Really? I would say it’s the best for discrimination against Windows users. Better then even old school slashdot.
Mastodon is pretty great for queer people. Better than lemmy I would say
That’s a bit of a weird thing to say if you ask me, as Lemmy and Mastodon is both just the fediverse and they are connected. So surely it just depends who/what you follow?
They are connected but in practice there is definitely a big separation between lemmy and mastodon… you see mastodon posts on mastodon, lemmy posts on lemmy. yes its possible to view lemmy posts on mastodon but its fucking garbage integration, i have never seen a lemmy posts boosted on mastodon it just doesn’t happen… if I see a mastodon post here its in the form of a screen shot… the communities are effectively separate
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
I mean, yeah, that’s true… On the basis that it’s the worst social media platform for… Anything at all.