I’ve treated Lemmy as a fun, silly blog since I made my account. I love how you can freely post anywhere and as much as you like, unlike on Reddit. I’m also a teen who grew up online with unrestricted internet access and does online school, so I’m a bit addicted to being online. I love how much more interactive the comments feel here, despite it being a smaller platform. I’ve had fun reading and interacting with people. But I think I might delete my account and everything, because people analyzing my behavior and accusing me of things has started to get to me. Most recently, someone accused me of trying to manipulate people because of my age and gender. All I wanted to do was make people feel some fun and giggles. I’m wondering if you’ve ever felt something similar.
Eh. Sure.
I was also a teenager on the internet, back when Reddit was a chill place to be. Now I’m an adult, with… responsibilities.
My advice?
Enjoy yourself, have fun, be unfiltered, be silly. The internet isn’t that big of a deal as long as you keep a degree of separation between your irl identity and online life. It’s liberating especially as someone who was a bit socially awkward.
Still, don’t forget mental hygiene. A break is good from time to time. Talk to people irl, take a walk, touch grass.
When people get angry online, I do my best to be a duck, let it wash off, respond either pleasantly or with cheer. Life is too short to be miserable, so go forth and have fun little duckling :)