iām not sure what area youāre studying/working on, and which is the basis of your essay - also, as a newbie who isnāt well-versed on the culture here - i guess iāll just say some random misc thoughts about my experience so far!
there is something about this interface, i.e. the fonts, the emojis, the formatting, the colours, etc, thatās all so incredibly nostalgic of early tech. it looks like an elevated version of the bare websites they had us build with html/css in ict class. it also feels like a more text- and community-based tumblr, another platform that i found a lot of comfort and joy being on. i donāt have the introspection or technical knowledge to pinpoint what exactly it is about PI, and similar platforms (like tumblr) that makes them safe and comforting/less stressful to use compared to others, so iād be interested in seeing whether this is something your essay will touch on, or define!
maybe itās because itās still new and with a smaller user base than Big SMā¢ļø sites, but the culture here doesnāt seem to care about how many followers you have, or in getting the highest amount of engagement on everything you post! itās an even playing field where everyone iāve seen is just enthusiastic, helpful and thoughtful in their recs or general comments. a small detail, but i also like that specific ālikeā numbers arenāt displayed - it (maybe unintentionally?) removes a lot of subliminal pressure to up that figure!
PI is a happy, unencumbered space that makes you feel like a (pre-)teen exploring early tech and social platforms again, except instead of it being a collection of people u know irl, itās basically a bunch of friends from all over. and thatās something thatās been sorely missed, or perhaps even erased, from the cultures of other social media sites. thereās so much individualism and criticism there, and when you donāt receive engagement, youāre basically talking to yourself bc the algorithm wonāt pick up your posts & have them show up for other people.
thereās always something so special and personal when social sites such as this are in their early days, when the people participating are still genuine in their pursuit on them. the people gravitating towards being here are probably looking for the same thing as well, so i hope for nothing more than for it to stay like this.
