Over the past few months I’ve been “experiencing” the Twitter alternatives Mastodon and Bluesky (bsky). I have to admit that signing up to both were both simple to do. The only stumbling block was waiting for an invitation code from Bluesky to be able to create an account. Once I got my code I was able to install the application on my iPhone and create an account from there. I also appreciate the fact I can interact with both Mastodon and Bluesky from my browsers, which include Firefox, Chrome, and Vivaldi. I appreciate the browser experience more than the app experience, but either way, both are easy and enjoyable to use.

So if they’re enjoyable why am I contemplating dropping out of social media, and specifically, Mastodon and Bluesky? Burnout, or perhaps Twitter PTSD.

I was driven away from Twitter by Twitter’s antics long before Musk purchased it. I was always one step away from killing the account, but was naively hoping that some miracle might occur that would bring some sanity back to Twitter. Unfortunately Musk’s purchase and subsequent actions blew Twitter to hell, and in the process, motivated me to get the hell out.

Both Mastodon and Bluesky are nothing like Twitter, and that’s a Very Good Thing Indeed. Unfortunately I bear the psychic scars of dealing with Twitter for over a decade, which as it turns out are far more extensive than I thought. Just using a social media server that’s remotely like Twitter makes that service unenjoyable after a short time using it. Rather than kill those accounts I’ve just decided to put them into the background and turn off any and all alerts from them. I’m still dealing with the shock of realizing I turn 70 this year; the idea of wasting time on anything remotely like modern social media are now anathema to me.