this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. Avoid politics
    • 3.1) NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
    • 3.2) Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
    • 3.3) Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
  4. Posts must be original/unique
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Yet.

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[–] rob64@startrek.website 311 points 1 year ago (3 children)

There's also the fact that there isn't an algorithm trying to keep you doomscrolling by promoting commercial content.

[–] Bonehead@kbin.social 69 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think this is a huge part of it. Occasionally I'll surf Facebook after checking out the marketplace. Last night I saw tons of posts about that "Try that in a small town" song with tons of people claiming to support it. Just post after post of people saying they don't see anything racist about it at all, and not a single one pointing out how showing videos of the BLM protests while singing "we take care of our own, try that in a small town" miiiiiiiight just be a little bit racist. Fortunately I usually only click on cat videos and the rare left leaning recommended posts, so I got to see one post with a picture of John Cougar Mellencamp saying something like "I sang about my small town without mentioning violence." The post had hundreds of comments....all deleted by admins.

Even when you try to avoid the controversy and hateful comments, the system is still designed to keep you doomscrolling. Positivity doesn't help that...

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[–] Candelestine@lemmy.ca 42 points 1 year ago

This is underrated. I actually close Lemmy a lot easier and more quickly than I did reddit, it's not hooking me with dopamine hits nearly as strongly.

As a result, since I know I'll probably just scroll for a few minutes at a time, I'm more willing to check in more often and toss a few upvotes and maybe a comment or two around.

[–] figment@lemmy.sdf.org 17 points 1 year ago

Yep this is huge. I still scroll on RiF sometimes without being logged in, and I had only ever looked at the subs I was subscribed to until now. I'm shocked by how much infuriating nonsense is being pushed by the site.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 259 points 1 year ago (26 children)

Lemmy is so far left leaning because a large part of its existence is due to people being mad at capitalism

[–] Silviecat44@aussie.zone 31 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)

And its so tiring to hear about all the time

Edit: and I don’t disagree

[–] EddoWagt@feddit.nl 25 points 1 year ago

I agree with it, but I also agree with you

[–] dangblingus@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

"I disagree with the bad thing, but I wish the people affected by the bad thing wouldn't complain about it so much!"

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[–] pfannkuchen@lemmy.world 85 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thinking like this is why people get surprised when right leaning parties get voted for in elections

[–] ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca 46 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Lol right? "Right wing politics only seem popular because of bots". No, left wing politics only seem popular on social media because old people dont use it, despite making up the majority of many populations, and often times are the only people who actually vote in elections.

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[–] jesterraiin@lemmy.world 76 points 1 year ago (12 children)

Not really. I mean that "because..." part.

Leftism is inherenty tied to technology, especially new. It's part of its lifestyle. EVERY new, massive social "site" (or online service) is expected to be left-leaning by default. It may later change its political viewpoint, but in its relative infancy it's left.

Rightism is more about actions taking place in real-world. As such, the technology isn't perceived as more than a tool, used for specific purpose only, rather than part of, or the foundation of a lifestyle.

...and of course there's a plethora of alternative political views, options and convictions that are a mix of either extremes of the spectrum - if you meet a person online, it shouldn't be surprisied to learn about "pro-life", but also "anti-Trump" and similarly puzzling approaches to various aspects of life.

tl;dr: it's not about bots. It's because Lemmy/Mastodon isn't popular enough to serve as a tool for right-wing politics.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 52 points 1 year ago (17 children)

Leftism is inherenty tied to technology, especially new.

I don't know, there has always been a huge libertarian contingent of the tech industry as well. I'm not sure which is bigger. I hope the leftism.

[–] MBM@lemmings.world 25 points 1 year ago

Yeah crypto bros aren't exactly leftist, neither is the hypercapitalist Silicon Valley crowd, and I've encountered plenty of other tech enthusiasts with worrying opinions.

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[–] frathiemann@feddit.de 69 points 1 year ago (13 children)

I dont think that is the case. Left leaning people are just much less accepting of authority, so there are more likely to move of of reddit. right leaning people also tend to be more conservative, so they are more likely to stay on there old platforms.

[–] IDe@sopuli.xyz 30 points 1 year ago (3 children)

There have been many right-wing exodus from reddit over the years. All of them have centered around a perceived "free speech" issue, and they have always flocked to the most promising alternatives (e.g. Voat). Obviously Lemmy with its origins was never seen as particularly appealing for that crowd. This time the issue just happened to touch the left-leaning part more.

[–] assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

Probably also explains why Lemmy is doing well.

Knock on wood, but Lemmy's grown to the point now that it almost completely replaces Reddit for me. The only reason I still stop by Reddit is for more niche fandoms that haven't taken off here quite yet.

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[–] Zomg@lemmy.world 66 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Grandpa also doesn't understand federation

Grandpa actually votes tho

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[–] gunnm@monero.town 55 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Lemmy is a decentralized protocol not a centralized americanized political leaning social media.

[–] glue_snorter@lemmy.sdfeu.org 16 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Do you think that's relevant? I don't see anything about either reddit or lemmy that makes it harder for right-wingers to join. I can tell you that America does not have a monopoly on the alt-right (AfD, Brexit, etc)

I'm keen to learn more if you've seen evidence in this topic. I wouldn't know how to investigate, tbh.

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[–] Zezzoz@lemmy.world 47 points 1 year ago (10 children)

The political discourse seems toned down here, I am already happy with that.

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[–] willeypete23@reddthat.com 39 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I would say less "left leaning" and more anti-capitalist / anti fascist. More socialism less Nazis.

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[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 28 points 1 year ago

Not by bots but by rage farming algorithms. Rage farming the right is easy and profitable. Facebook has gotten that down to science. The fake absolutist free speech espoused by Twitter's management as well as the apparent moderation inaction by Facebook are all about that. Letting right wing nuts rage freely generates engagement, generates ad revenue. The only thing the platforms actively manage is making sure that big name ads don't show up on Nazi posts.

[–] style99@kbin.social 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Among people in general who actually read comments, the left does have a distinct advantage.

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[–] Dasnap@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

Lemmy also isn't profit driven, so you don't get libertarian tech bros.

[–] PatFussy@lemm.ee 23 points 1 year ago (36 children)

For all we know the people that are on the right have gone to other platforms. That doesnt stop you jerks from saying im on the right even though im not. For some reason both sides have adopted a "with us or against us" mentality and everyone is a nazi.

[–] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 33 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s exactly what a Nazi would say!

/s

[–] damnYouSun@sh.itjust.works 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (17 children)

People throw around the word too much, there are actual Nazis around and we need to reserve the term just for their special brand of evil. Otherwise the phrase gets so watered down as to essentially become meaningless.

Otherwise they are just rightwing dipshits.

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[–] healer_56@lemmy.world 21 points 1 year ago

i think its not just the bots but also that the right want their posts to be seen and want to "present" themself and their "opinions". And i think for that, lemmy is just not visible enough, yet.

[–] letsgocrazy@lemm.ee 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Imagine if Lemmy just totally avoided playground level political debate?

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[–] partypoop@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

People will stay where they're right, and avoid places where they're wrong. See: Facebook groups.

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[–] STRIKINGdebate2@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I honestly don't think that's the case. There's tons of right leaning and left leaning people that are bots. You can just never know. I think it comes down to the age range using this place and the culture using it. Reactionary people prefer sites like 4chan or the other online communities designed to cater to them. The age comes in because based on research the largest age demographic using Lemmy is between 25 and 35. This site is too underground to attract the middle aged and older cohort that are right wing. It's also not hip enough to attract the under 20 crowd who make up the bulk of Steven Crowder, Ben Shapiro and Tim Pool viewers.

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