I've been trying to figure out why Twitter is less fun for me than it was just a few years ago and after looking through my follow list, I think I have the answers.
1. A lot of people I used to follow and interact with are gone or I guess blocked me or some combination, I'm too lazy to make a deep dive, so I'm gonna assume more of the latter than the former.
2. I'm way down on active Mom Follows: Women about ten years in either direction from me with kids and a cheerily cynical view of the world. I work a mix of from home and at the office (and in a courtroom and in conference rooms and...) and they resonated.
3. Of the fun people with whom I used to interact and who still have accounts, almost all of them said something like, "Wow, Twitter is a cesspool covered in poop topping, peace out" between one and four years ago.
4. On a related note, it's not "a few years ago" I was having much more fun. Based on a quick review of timeline interaction, "more fun" was four or five years ago, which borders on and arguably jumps right into "several years ago."
5. Some of my favorite people who used to talk about things other than politics (and politics too!) now basically talk about politics. A decent fraction also appear to have been driven mad or monomaniacal by Trump.
6. Part of why I unfollowed and almost entirely muted the Buckley Club people is because they were a leading indicia of the weird, circular firing squad tribalism forming on the right, and I wanted none of that. Unfortunately, while I wasn't alone, I don't represent the majority.
7. I took a vacay last year around this time because of work and because my wife was in early stage pregnancy and I was doing that hyperparanoid thing I do where I assume a sneeze will cost us the baby. No pregnancy this time (I MEAN IT), but maybe another break is coming.
