Fediverse

Reddit began in a similar fashion, so its a positive trait for sure

There is natural overlap in ideology between the fediverse and FOSS (Free and Open Source Software so including Linux). The same principles apply like building something together without big corporations*. But that does lead to a rather narrow demography I'm afraid.

* I know a lot of big corporations ARE involved in the Linux kernel but I'm talking about the various distros in case of Linux.

Not exactly but I feel like those are my people nevertheless

Signing up and commenting on Lem should be made stupid simple so that masses can flock here instead. ANY friction in between will result in no action taken. Also more Google searche algos with Lemmy will greatly help.

21 yo software dev here, so not quite older, but I'd say I fit the tech nerd bill lmao

While a lot of people are conscious about the software they use, I think being involved in tech, either as a hobby or career, ups the chance that a person will care about things like user privacy, how an app is run, algorithms that might manipulate the user, or even how technologically literate the rest of the community is

And that isn't to be condescending towards people who are more apathetic about it. It's like how a doctor might be more behooved to eat healthy; when you've seen and studied what can go wrong, you're more compelled to avoid it

Not yet 30 and can't be bothered with Linux on desktop

Yes. Especially on Mastodon, a poll showed nearly half of the site was above 40 and 3 percent were under 18. Most of the content is people talking about the site itself, especially on lemmy. I've felt pretty isolated as a minor on the sites.

My 15 yo ass

Damn I feel seen

Hmm, not sure. But I’m in my 20s and I love to advocate for privacy and decentralization.

Older? It seems the general lemmy population is in their early 20s.

There just needs to be automatic instance assignment for new users with registration time opt-out for those who want to choose. Pick whichever one is the most populated. If that's down at that particular moment in time, pick the next most populated and so on. Take the instance picking out of the equation for people who don't care about that. People who do care can still pick their own.

That being said, it's difficult to grow a new website in general unless it's already got established backing from other source (i.e. a large corporation, celebrity, etc.), It's not like old days in the 90s when there were far fewer websites in general.

Buy hearing aids

Edit: Sorry, thought this was the Bing.

1. 23, so no.
2. Enthusiast, yeah, trying to get into tech for a job, but don't have the CS degree they all want.
3. No, but not by choice. Not running Linux because I buggered my UEFI somehow, and so it won't allow me to boot from USB or switch to my Linux partition.

I think it's because early Millennials are near the peak of techiness, and the sort of person to switch to an open-source, decentralised, somewhat anti-commercial website is also the sort of person to use Linux. I'm early Gen Z, but fit the other two categories.

I'm almost 48. My profession: foreign languages and literature. I have had a computer since I was 7 years old. I know how to use Linux and I have played video games all my life. I know a little code. I'm good with computers. A lot of people my age in my profession are not all that good with computers. They think they are because they can make a PowerPoint presentation or took a class on how to use a spread sheet as a grade book. So, I don't know, I don't think everyone on here are older tech nerds, so it's not exclusive to them. They could be the majority, though. Am I a nerd? Yes. But a different type of nerd. I speak three languages and read six. I can diagram a sentence and correct peoples' grammar and vocabulary in my sleep. I know all about literature from the 16th and 17th centuries. I play video games and I like technology enough, but it does not consume my life. Are there lots of people on here like me? I don't know. I DO know that I've interacted with a lot of younger people on here. To understand how to use this new type of social media you have to understand technology pretty well. It isn't for people who just want to tap or click on stuff that "just works." You need a basic understanding of how decentralized social networks function to be able to navigate it and you have to have patience with things that might slow down or do strange things every once in a while. There are lots of people my age that would not have the patience to learn how to use this space on the internet. In a lot of ways, they are very similar to the stereotypes of "average twenty-somethings" I've seen mentioned in this thread. No worries about privacy. In some cases, perfectly happy with their privacy being invaded because they want to see ads related to products they would buy. I also enjoy shopping. It's fun. I don't like ads, though.

Hey! I'm all three of those 🤓

Trash culture, TikTok and the likes. The gen z folx I know don't seem to prioritize privacy and quality content. Some know it and don't seem to care even after getting hacked/scammed.

Living vicariously through influencers, likes, and whatnot. Being cool, blending in...

I fit the description. I like it, the regular social media life drains me.

Eli5...How can I get into mastadon? I just signed up for Lemmy. Can I download any mastadon app and just log in and use it?