I first heard it in 2019 or 2020 from the queer community but I have a feeling it has deeper roots

Could it be younger writers are now the age/career place where they can start putting unfamiliar content in?

No, I don’t think I know anyone else that interacts with the fediverse. there are probably a handful that I know that are even aware of it.

I joined Lemmy when the API changes happened and tried to get a couple nerdy friends to join but they didn’t bite