That’s how all new social media platforms start; you can’t expect the same level of engagement as already established platforms. What needs to be done is to reduce the barrier of entry as much as possible. For me, as an Apollo migrant, when I arrived, I simply looked for something familiar, something I could call home, and that was the carbon copy of Apollo, WefWef. In my mind, I’ve never left Reddit because Lemmy is the new Reddit, with the same interface and everything. Frankly, Reddit was at its best from 2013 to 2015, when users were more expressive about sharing their ideas and experiences. That’s where Lemmy is headed; the platform just received an influx of users, and communities are growing as we speak. I suggest giving it some time because, from the looks of it, the platform has just started.
It's funny how the best years are really dependent on when you start. I remember 2014/2015 as the beginning of the decline, with gamergate and the trump campaign starting around then and the discussion quality taking a nose dive, but my first account was from 2008/2009.
I mean, it became apparent that after the mass exodus of people whom actually cared, Reddit wouldn't collapse. Instead, it would become a basic social media website, just like any other. While the quality would drop drastically, it would still function enough to earn from advertisements. Think of it as "Emoji" movie in the social media world. While hated by many, there were still a lot of people, who paid to see it, earning Sony millions in the box office.
They said this about Reddit for years. Even now most people I know IRL have a vague understanding of Reddit. 5 months ago my dad was in a phase of obsessively consuming Skiing content and he signed up for Reddit and found other subs to match his interests.
Anyone who cares about this sort of social media shouldn’t have an issue. And keeping out wider masses is what makes these platforms so engaging when they hit the young/mature stage, IMO