It’s more typical for people to “ghost”. I don’t think in those case there is any particular decision, they just stop checking in.

You’ll likely find the most common reason people leave is they’ve shared too much of themselves and someone either recognises them or they worry someone will. Some people start new user accounts and keep going. Some people will switch to a different instance. We aren’t a particularly attractive instance if you want to engage with a lot of lemmy.world communities, for instance. There’s a lag for when you’ll see their content until they upgrade their Lemmy version.

There’s been a bit of a vibe shift over the last year as activity has dropped off and the instance has become even more of an echo-chamber than it already was. People are becoming more callous and less interested in multifaceted conversation as a result of events like the Gaza war. I was already debating whether I really wanted to be here around the time BanDHMO left, which was a big blow because they were one of the few posters who were not only enjoyable to discuss big issues with but also tried (often in vain) to steer those conversations in a less angry, reactionary direction. I was posting and checking in a lot less, I had a growing block list which meant the instance was pretty quiet, I couldn’t branch out to other communities because of the sync issues…it was all getting pretty pointless. The Brian Thompson shooting was the final straw. I don’t know why so many people here think that is something worthy of celebration but it’s an absolutely delusional take and there was no way I was spending another minute surrounded by people who are incapable of criticising the victim and/or his profession/industry without simultaenously worshipping his accused killer. That news story sort of sums up the state of social media now, where so many people have developed these completely insane and extreme beliefs without even knowing it and suddenly the people like me who still believe murder is morally wrong and that vigilantism is not a solution to society’s problems are considered fringe.

There are still some good communities and people here, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t intend to interact with the instance in any major way going forward so there was no reason to keep the account. Maybe I’ll check in to some of the communities I still enjoyed on this new account, or maybe I’ll just delete it in a few days. I’m not really sure whether I want to persist with Lemmy or social media in today’s world, I just think it’s getting worse with no end to the decline in sight. But I thought before I give up entirely I should at least see if it’s any better when I can interact with a broader range of people from the .world instance and its many communities. Sorry to leave abruptly, but I didn’t actually think anyone would notice since I wasn’t particularly active.