I think it’s much less intimidating to new users now compared to when I joined last year. The barrier to entry has been reduced significantly.
There are tons of active communities now, mobile apps that work great (this is a big one), and many more tools to block content that you don’t want to see.
I’d hate that as an employee. Imagine knowing that every time you talk to a coworker, it’s recorded. Every time you sit for a few minutes to reset, it’s recorded. Every time you check your phone, it’s on camera.
I deal with this too. I’ve accepted that there’s a sweet spot for the types of games I enjoy, and I generally stay in that zone.
First, the short-term gameplay loop has to be rewarding enough, which cuts out a lot of tedious “shopping list of waypoints” type of games and ones that are heavily story-driven with boring/tedious gameplay in between story beats.
Second, the upper limit needs to be right below the Skinner-boxes of dopamine traps. No gachas, no games with daily grinding, and I try to mostly stay away from MMOs these days. I know that I’ll get trapped in the dopamine loop and play them, even if I’m not actually having fun.
Public opinion seems to be souring on all the big corporate social media sites, and I truly think if we’re able to get the word out about federated social media platforms, people will jump ship.
Also, it’s hard to dislike a platform that isn’t showing ads, selling user data, or generally making decisions for the enrichment of shareholders.
I don’t, but when I looked this up earlier, it seemed like this tweet must have got viral a while back, because there’s lots of discussion of “Surf Dracula Syndrome” out there.