it’s been happening for more than a decade at this point, obviously, but it’s still very depressing to watch. i’ve personally found so many amazing and genuinely interesting communities over the years, but new ones just aren’t really made anymore :<

i’d assume it probably has to do with how people tend to grow up these days. the way most social media works is super one-sided and parasocial. which isn’t very good for creating actual communities

the best ones i’ve been a part of formed ~5+ years ago or the average members are in their late 20s to 30s… there are a few exceptions, of course, but that rule generally follows

4t4 is one of the few “new” places i’ve found that genuinely still has any character left to it at all. i’m not sure what exactly caused that to happen with 4t4 specifically though? maybe it’s the 4chan/forum roots that make people more used to effort posting and actually engaging with the content? if lemmy had poll support (maybe look into it admin?), i’d ask how people engage with social media. i bet it would be a lot different from the average person tbh.

i do really hope this place takes off because 4t4 on reddit is probably just perma-dead now after the new moderation bots :(