It’s a smaller neighborhood here dude.

There’s definitely regulars I recognize, but still plenty more I don’t.

Because it is dawg.

Total users are like ballpark 1 million, and most don’t post much or at all – e.g the 1-9-90 rule.

By comparison Reddit and twitter are the most trafficed sites on the internet

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

It’s called a community. If Reddit doesn’t seem like this anymore, it’s because half those people are actually AI.

I’m not usually an internet commentor, but I try to chip in on Lemmy sometimes. I think most people just treat it like the rest of social media today, where the smart idea is to just lurk

Be the shitpost you want to see in the world.

I almost never comment on anything. I imagine most users are like me.

Yes, I do see the same names popping up all the time.

I post more on Lemmy since I think people will actually read what I wrote. I used to post a lot on Reddit too, but that was MANY years ago.

However one of the big reasons I post is to hopefully get the conversation started. I figure with zero comments someone is less likely to post. With one stupid comment, someone might respond.

Small town vibes where you actually recognize people at the grocery store kinda thing.

The trick is not to read the usernames. I imagine myself surrounded by millions of mostly sensible people!

The ratio of commenter/poster to lurker is always pretty lopsided. I also never read user names.

The majority of individuals on platforms like Lemmy—and social media more broadly—engage almost exclusively as passive consumers. Their involvement often begins and ends with the simple act of upvoting or downvoting content. This limited interaction speaks volumes about the nature of digital engagement, where consuming information or entertainment takes precedence over meaningful interaction or contribution. The absence of deeper engagement is not a failing of the platform itself but a reflection of broader societal tendencies.

People, in general, tend toward passivity, a trait that extends beyond online spaces and into areas like civic participation. In the United States, for example, voter turnout remains notoriously low. People express their dissatisfaction with the status quo, they crave change, and they criticize institutions, yet they shy away from taking the minimal steps required to enact that change, often hiding behind a hand-waving comment involving the words “systemic,” “structure,” and/or “institutions,” a transparent way of excusing their unwillingness to actually act. As though they themselves are not parts of those systems, structures, and institutions. The same individuals who will upvote or downvote content online without a second thought are often the ones who abstain from voting in elections, an “upvote/downvote” that directly impact their lives.

What is even more concerning is that this passivity is not merely a result of laziness or apathy, but something ingrained and encouraged by modern society. Our institutions—whether educational, political, or corporate—tend to value compliance over initiative. Decision-making, once seen as a marker of personal agency and responsibility, is increasingly viewed as a burden. People have been conditioned to prefer being told what to do rather than take responsibility for their choices.

If a decision goes wrong, there’s an inherent comfort in being able to place blame on someone else. This social conditioning makes being passive, fading into the wallpaper, not only acceptable but desirable for many. And yet, these same people will often feel deeply dissatisfied with their lives. But, rather than do something about it, they continue to be helpless, wishing someone would decide for them to improve their lives and then forcing them to do it.

While it’s easy to express frustration with the passive nature of online participants, it is also, sadly, understandable. They are products of a society that rewards inaction more than action, where engagement is often reduced to the simplest and least effortful gestures. These platforms reflect the broader societal trend toward disengagement from real, consequential decision-making, reinforcing and reflecting a vicious cycle of passive impotence while they wait for someone or something to fix things for them.

not a bot at least

FlyingSquid is our mrbabyman.