Social media, as it currently exists, is a net negative. We’d all be better off without it.
Even Lemmy, for adults I mean? It’s an infinite book of content, or perhaps more like hanging out at a pub after/instead of work, in that it can be misused but does offer positives of connection, knowledge, enjoyment, correction, and more?
Lemmy is slightly better because as far as I can tell it’s not algorithmically run and it’s decentralized. The data does not appear to be for sale although I’m sure AI is using it for training without compensation.
Lemmy is still ripe for manipulation. At this point in time nobody knows if the other person they’re talking with is real or a bot, AI has made the ability to manufacture consent a lot easier and real seeming when it’s not organic.
I personally believe we fucked up somewhere along the line in our tech development
