You know, when I first started to become active on Internet communities as a preteen in the early-to-mid-2000s, I don’t think anyone really used the term “social media” to describe them. The term may have existed already, but I didn’t think of myself as a user of “social media” at all at the time.
At the time we had web forums run on software like phpBB. Later I discovered wikis and blogs. I have no idea when people started to insist on using the strange term “social media” which may or may not include all those things. Is Reddit/Lemmy “social media”? It certainly differs from most other “social media” in significant ways: we mostly don’t use our real names, we don’t have followers, we mainly communicate with random strangers rather than the people we know IRL. This is a lot more similar to traditional web forums than to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X/Mastodon, etc.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Because Lemmy is a forum, not social media.
Forum is a term from the archaic ages before you kids thought phones were the only way to be online.
bcgm3@lemmy.world 6 months ago
For what it’s worth, I agree with you about Lemmy and Reddit not really qualifying as “social media.” I think of it more as a spectrum than a binary value…
And just to split hairs even a little more, I think Lemmy is more palettable than Reddit for me, by virtue of the smaller (and generally more tech-savvy) user base.
WelcomeBear@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I just wanted to mention that I got a chuckle out of the word “pallettable” because it’s not quite right but I totally see how you got there. I thought you might like to know that the word is “palatable.”
A palette is the board that a painter uses to hold paint, a pallet is something you pick up with a forklift and a palate is the roof of your mouth/your tasting skill. So something that’s pallettable sounds like you’d smear a bunch of it all over a giant board and forklift it onto a truck
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Lemmy definitely has a younger and less experienced, educated user base.
Tech-savy, yes.
danielbln@lemmy.world 6 months ago
You kids, ha. I’m hitting 40 soon, and Lemmy is absolutely as much social media as Reddit is, just different scale and technological underpinning. Don’t be high and mighty about it, you can easily burn as much time scrolling through Lemmy communities.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Being able to burn time on something doesnt make it social media.
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 6 months ago
No, but he’s right, it is, and they are.
Honytawk@lemmy.zip 6 months ago
Lemmy is a media that allows you to be social.
Forums are also social media.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 6 months ago
by that definition bathroom walls are social media.
Meron35@lemmy.world 6 months ago
Tbh the discourse of bathroom graffiti is typically better than that of FB
wolfshadowheart@slrpnk.net 6 months ago
They are social, a busy bar bathroom? You’ll make a friend for life in there. There’s little media though. Unless they have TVs inside the bathroom/stalls, and I wouldn’t really count music since the focus isn’t the music but doing your business.
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 6 months ago
I like how you think that’s a clever rebuttal, when it’s actually correct.
Social medium, but close enough.
crackajack@reddthat.com 6 months ago
No matter how much you rationalise it, forum is still a social media. You are still socialising after all. You can still post pictures in forums if you want, but modern social platforms just have better UI and convenience to post videos and photos than older forums.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 6 months ago
By your definition even email is social media.
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 5 months ago
by your inability to know what social media is, it is impossible for you to converse on the topic.
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 6 months ago
No, because email is point to point. Ffs. 🤦
crackajack@reddthat.com 6 months ago
Well, people have been sending mails before just for fun. Hence the phenomenon of “penpals”.
fosforus@sopuli.xyz 6 months ago
Stop lying to yourself. Lemmy has the exact same problems as other social media. Just because the overall cost is lower due to people developing and maintaining this without a salary doesn’t it make any less toxic.
DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz 6 months ago
That’s like saying Twitter isn’t social media because its a microblog. Lemmy is definitely social media. We have profiles, can add each other as friends, send private messages, etc. It’s not structured the same as most other social media websites, but it is social media
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 5 months ago
I love how angry the truth makes Lemmy users.
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 5 months ago
lEMmy iS a FORum!
🤦 ffs. you really are dumb as shit.
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Boy you really just love stalking my posts and replying to me everywhere dont you.
I know you miss your daddy and need a new, strong figure in your life. but its not me.
ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world 5 months ago
it’s the same post, you retard.