We can also learn about alternative networks by perusing Gopher, Gemini, and other networks.
I think that Gopher is neat and have some nostalgia going on there, but it’s not what I would recommend to random people as a first stab if they just want a less-centralized experience.
But most people seem to be content to remain on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, regardless of the amount of abuse they are being subjected to. I honestly don’t understand why.
There truly are a LOT of people who don’t interrogate the world around them. They don’t know or care about corporations harvesting and selling their data. They don’t know or care about the harms of algorithmic manipulation via social media. They don’t really think about privacy. And they don’t try to educate themselves.
There are plenty of people for whom Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon are “the internet”, just like the AOL desktop app was “the internet” for many non-technical users back in the day.
I had a family member remark that they had tried to use Reddit, and it was “too busy-looking” and hard to understand, and they are in their 40s.