I think this is the way we should communicate, when presented with the question on how to get on Mastodon:
Copy paste from the link:
How do I use Mastodon?
Download the Mastodon app from the Apple app store or Play store.
Create an account (just like Twitter or any other social media)
Follow people, and get posting.
Why do tech journalists say it’s too confusing to catch on?
I have no fucking idea.
EDIT for clarification, don’t take this too seriously:
This “guide” is a bit of a joke made out of frustration. If you actually want to know more, including why I feel it has potential to free us from the dystopian hellscape that is modern social media, here is the “real” guide to Mastodon. It still uses simple language (and has lots of pictures!):
Please share widely
I think it’s the “basically” part in basically right back where we started that makes the difference. Even if 100% of Fediverse users were on a single instance, once that instance starts pulling Musk moves, the users can move somewhere else.
Only if that instance defederates from everyone else do we get the Twitter situation again. Or, since that’s actually what happened, Truth Social, which I think is just a slightly modified Mastodon instance with federation disabled/deactivated.