Quite a few:

• Suddenly I didn’t need to rely on last minute panic to get boring stuff done: I could just think “this needs to get done”…and do it. I could clear my whole chore list without taking a break every 10 minutes to hype myself up, then go play games for the rest of the day
• I could write a to-do list and actually remember where I put it, and I could even manage to read it!
• My reading speed tripled since I wouldn’t keep losing my place every 15 seconds.
• I wouldn’t fall asleep just from sitting still for too long.

Corny as it sounds, after taking a long hiatus from treatment and then starting up again, I felt like I turned into Superman.

Ah yes, I remember the equivalent moment for me: I was 8, and Mom asked me if I felt different after taking the pills. I told her “I don’t think so?” And then 3 months went by and I noticed I wasn’t getting yelled at by my teacher for not paying attention anymore, and I wasn’t getting in trouble at home for “ignoring” my parents (it took them a while to realize I was genuinely forgetting things they asked me to do 5 seconds ago).

Looking back, it’s wild that it took me so long to notice such a big difference. But I think that’s a real testament to how helpful those treatments are: when leveraged correctly, basic behaviors that you would normally struggle with just “click” naturally.

I wish I could up-vote more than once…

In a similar vein, Evelyn Wang from Everything Everywhere All At Once… She may not start out badass, but oh boy does that change

It’s funny you mention this, because a few days ago I went to my local market to grab milk, and the regular milk was more expensive that the plant-based milk…never thought I’d see this day in the US!

This is exactly correct, and herein lies the problem: how do you monetize content creation from people you don’t pay?

Louis Rossman said it best: when you look at a lot of content platforms, you realize their business models don’t make sense. The people managing these companies are riding on VC money knowing full well there isn’t any long-term return. They want to cash out and dip.

This is why I feel like a Federated, user-maintained system is probably best for the long term sustainability of a community. People want a place to enjoy something or someone? Let’s make it happen, by our own means

As someone who really only went on Reddit for memes and techie discussions, I think I can say this: for my use-case, there was nothing special about Reddit itself. In fact, one thing I have realized is just how little the nature of the host matters beyond ease of use. Sure, certain formats lend themselves better to certain use-cases, but ultimately humans are social creatures, and even in the most inconvenient of circumstances, we find a way to make it work.

And once you realize that, it becomes less about the medium, and more about the people who lead the discourse. From what I can gather, Reddit lost that discourse a long time ago. And as such, their downfall was only a matter of time.