When mindlessly browsing Reddit, I found that I usually just jump directly to the comments, read a couple, and continue. Lemmy seems a bit more curated (read: smaller), and therefore it’s easier to actually engage in discussions, which leads me to read the article, think critically about it, and respond (if I have something to say) in the comments–bigger is not always better!
I’m still burnt from reddit, so I haven’t engaged as much as I used to. Why put in the high effort when I still don’t know if things will last long enough to make it worth it?
But, yeah, the community of lemmy/kbin hasn’t gotten taken over by cheap bots and karma farming, so there’s more quality to what’s here. It means that most discussion is better too. It gives hope.