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submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by throwaway@lemmy.cafe to c/fediverse@lemmy.world

First of all, I don't mean this post as a complaint, maybe more of a warning?

There is teenagers on the fediverse. Most of them don't share their age, for hopefully obvious reasons. I'd say that a lot of the accounts which do a lot of posting/commenting are run by teenagers


because most adults probably wouldn't have the time for that much posting.

While the young people of this generation are generally useless when it comes to something more complicated than microsoft word, the people who are good at technology, usually are very good at it.

most of my friends (most of which don't know the difference between a laptop and a desktop) could understand the fediverse as a concept perfectly when I explained it to them irl.

So, if you're in a really stupid argument with someone, try to remember that there is a small chance they are 14.

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[-] kbal@fedia.io 92 points 3 weeks ago

WARNING To the People of Earth: Teenagers exist. BEWARE

[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 11 points 3 weeks ago

Pretty much yeah, most people assume that no one under 30 is on fedi because its "hard" to use.

[-] 30p87@feddit.org 13 points 3 weeks ago

I'm 19 and assumed that there are at least a few. And with that I'm correct.

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[-] ByteMe@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I'm 24 and I'm using it just fine. I'd say that after signing up somewhere and getting an app to login into, the rest is pretty simple and much similar to reddit

[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 11 points 3 weeks ago

With lemmy? definitely! On the mastodon side of things? no. Mastodon seems to be for german middle aged bikers now.

[-] superkret@feddit.org 5 points 3 weeks ago

Oh boy, I should get on Mastodon!

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[-] schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 3 weeks ago

What part of the fediverse is "hard" to use?

Lemmy is easier to use than the UBB forum I started to become active on at the age of 10 that was the entry point for me being on the Internet at all. Back then we didn't have Markdown, but BBCode, and I had that figured out after a few weeks.

I think you're way underestimating young people.

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[-] Nougat@fedia.io 5 points 3 weeks ago

The assumptions that people make about age boggle my mind. You know that the people who made the internet are all "old" now, right?

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[-] LambdaRX@sh.itjust.works 20 points 3 weeks ago

Ah yes, of course other generations are much better with technology than today's teens.

[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 19 points 3 weeks ago

They are, teenagers (saying this as a teenager) are hopeless. Tech became so easy to use that anything requiring a tiny bit of effort is impossible for these people.

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

Its the same as its always been. There was always a small subset of the population interested and developing computer sciences. There was never this time where all the youngins knew computers like they did breathing. That was a fallacy.

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[-] TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org 8 points 3 weeks ago

At 14, me and most of my peers could navigate a file system on DOS, format floppies, install games from setup disks, and edit autoexec.bat files.

Yes, there is a huge difference between the teens of today and the teens of 25 years ago. Technological illiteracy is real thanks to the iPhone era and UIs becoming stupid simple to use.

The "iPad kids" meme didn't originate from thin air.

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[-] Blaze@lemmy.dbzer0.com 18 points 3 weeks ago

Teenagers now get banned if they tell their age anyway: !yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 54 points 3 weeks ago

To any teens who come across this post, do NOT admit you're underage or were underage at time of account creation anywhere, anytime for any reason

It's like Rule 1 of the internet.

Sincerely, The kids who grew alongside the internet since the 90s

[-] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 11 points 3 weeks ago
[-] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 weeks ago

14/f/under your floorboards

[-] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 7 points 3 weeks ago

14/f/under your floorboards

Translation: Either "FBI" or "40/m/under your floorboards"

[-] Gullible@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago

No, I’m just stuck. Bring a water-based lubricant to help me come out

[-] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 6 points 3 weeks ago

Sir this is a Lemmy

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[-] Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me 11 points 3 weeks ago

I was totally above 13 or had parental consent when I went to forums in the early 2000s. I totally wasn't actually 9.

It's wild to me this concept disappeared? It's literally never been a good idea to reveal you're a minor online. The laws are against you. Companies don't want to deal with a curated minor experience, even less so in the current times. If they do, you get the crappier version of things.

The worst thing to happen to the Internet is when Facebook normalized using your real name and real info online.

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[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 8 points 3 weeks ago

On my main account (this is a throwaway, if the username didn't already suggest that) I'm sure if you dug around enough you'd find out my age, but it would be a lot of effort.

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[-] ptz@dubvee.org 16 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

And what's the problem with that?

Laws don't currently make a concession for federated social media. If the law in an instance's jurisdiction says that users on a platform must be of a certain age, then for practical/enforcement purposes it makes no difference if they're local or federated.

FWIW, I also ban people under age 18 on my instance (local and federated). Obviously I can't know everyone's age, but if someone offers it and I become aware, and it's below the minimum age set in our policy, then they're banned until they're of age - simple as that.

I'm in the US, so 13 is the minimum age by law for most services (COPPA), and there's various grumblings to increase the age specifically for social media, so I'm playing it safe with 18 which is the age you're legally considered an adult.

Considering some of the stuff that gets posted here (legitimately and via bad actors), then my legal liabilities are less as I'm going out of my way to only serve adults on the platform. Mind you, I'm running this as a hobby / volunteer and do not have a team of lawyers on hand.

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[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 5 points 3 weeks ago

Thats why I made this post. If a teenager is on the fediverse, they will know how to evade a ban.

[-] Blaze@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 weeks ago

Makes sense!

[-] socsa@piefed.social 4 points 3 weeks ago

Meh. At least pretending to be an adult feels like a pretty low bar.

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[-] Angelusz@lemmy.world 15 points 3 weeks ago

You people still get into arguments online? Discussions, sure.. but arguments? o.O

[-] SatyrSack@feddit.org 9 points 3 weeks ago

YOU GET INTO INTERNET ARGUMENTS ALL THE TIME, YOU FUNGDARK! YOU'RE IN ONE NOW!

[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 6 points 3 weeks ago

Discussions, arguments, uncontrolled debates, whatever you want to call it.

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[-] LostXOR@fedia.io 14 points 3 weeks ago

As a teenager who is relatively tech-savvy and on the fediverse, can confirm. I think it's gotten to the point where even less technically inclined people can join fairly easily, but the more savvy are usually the first to flee from enshittifying platforms so we see a lot more of them here.

[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 7 points 3 weeks ago
[-] LostXOR@fedia.io 9 points 3 weeks ago

Teenager ≠ underage, 18 and 19 year olds exist. But thanks for your concern. :)

[-] small44@lemmy.world 12 points 3 weeks ago

Why do you think teens are generally stupid?

[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 11 points 3 weeks ago

As a teenager, I get in stupid arguments making stupid points because in my head, being right is important.

not teens, arguments (as in wasted effort to textually convince or defeat a faceless web foe) are usually stupid

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[-] RowRowRowYourBot@sh.itjust.works 12 points 3 weeks ago

Honestly as an older person it very much feels like a lot of Lemmy is under 25. It's the little things like not understanding the historical context that something from the past fits in while simultaneously telling me Im wrong about the time that I lived through.

[-] TORFdot0@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago

You are either a 14 year old socialist furry or a 35 year old Linux user on the fedi. No in between

[-] reiterationstation@lemm.ee 7 points 3 weeks ago

Ooof well older than that Sonny…

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[-] Condiment2085@lemm.ee 11 points 3 weeks ago

This is actually a good thing - teenagers are known to bring niche things into popular culture! For some reason the whole of society kind of cares what they think is cool

[-] WatDabney@fedia.io 11 points 3 weeks ago

I've long assumed that many (most?) of the tankies, and of hexbear's userbase in general, are teens.

[-] throwaway@lemmy.cafe 8 points 3 weeks ago

You would probably be right. Teenagers change political ideologies every other month.

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 4 points 3 weeks ago

The Lemmy devs themselves are around 18, I think.

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[-] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 7 points 3 weeks ago
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[-] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago
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[-] Nougat@fedia.io 6 points 3 weeks ago

I'd say that a lot of the accounts which do a lot of posting/commenting are run by teenagers


because most adults probably wouldn't have the time for that much posting.

Challenge accepted.

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this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025
46 points (72.5% liked)

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