Been on Twitter (with Tweetbot) & Reddit (with Apollo) for 10+ years. I kept to my follow list and subreddits and really did not see a lot of the toxicity that everyone talks about. I think that is largely because 1) I was using third party apps and wasn’t getting any adds or suggested posts, and 2) I was mostly lurking and didn’t have a lot of posts or comments. I did find in Reddit that some comments would get harsh responses, but mostly I would get useful answers to questions.
Now using Mastodon and Lemmy/WefWef. Generally, like the experience with some issues with Lemmy in particular. Main issue right now: I hate having to scroll through read posts every time I open Lemmy or an app.
I saw him in Philadelphia in 2019 on his “Farewell” Tour. He has been doing farewell tours for years.