It’s time to leave Twitter

At the start of the year, I wrote a blog post, committing me to remain on Twitter. This decision stemmed from an exodus of users following Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform, where, within weeks, dozens vanished from my timeline, compelling me to justify my sustained presence there.

My decision to stay was multi-faceted: I did not think that Musk would completely dismantle the platform, I observed a scarcity of viable Twitter alternatives, and I used the platform chiefly for broadcasting, and recognised the significance of preventing opinion silos by not departing. Above all, my enduring enjoyment of Twitter, my favourite social media platform, remained the cornerstone of my decision to stay.

However, these reasons have dissipated one by one, culminating in the current choice: Do I overlook the platform’s deteriorating state or adhere to my principles and exit? My resolution is clear. It’s time to leave, and perhaps others might consider doing the same. I categorise the reasons for departure into four main categories: Elon Musk, degradation of service, toxicity, and the emergence of alternatives.

The Musk Problem

When Musk took over, I found some fears to be overblown. “How bad can it get?” I asked myself. While it was clear that his politics had taken a rightward turn, that alone doesn’t disqualify anyone. We must inhabit a world where a myriad of political opinions coexist, and there’s a concerning tendency to label anyone with differing political views as a Nazi. So, I chose to wait and see.

However, Musk has not only continued veering further right, but he’s also begun amplifying truly reprehensible voices. Initially, he reinstated numerous banned accounts, followed by a succession of incremental steps pushing the platform further down this path. Climate denial, anti-vax dialogues, pro-Russian propaganda, antisemitic dog-whistles, and the tipping point for me was his photo-op at the US-Mexico border, featuring immigrants huddled behind a fence. As an immigrant myself, these images were my breaking point. I cannot continue to provide free content to bolster this individual.

I had promised not to give up, and I recognise that Musk seeks to expel people like me from the platform with his actions. While I hate to leave a platform that I’ve given so much time to, I can’t stay in good conscience.

The enshittification of Twitter

Although the Musk regime has detrimentally impacted Twitter politically, some might forgive this if the service had improved. Ironically, the platform has deteriorated profoundly in almost every respect. The least offensive decision was the hackneyed rebranding to X (apologies, I can’t say it with a straight face). This choice was so disastrous that it decimated app downloads, prompting a rebrand to “Formerly Twitter” on the Apple App Store.

If I detailed every ill-conceived decision, this would turn into a lengthy essay. One monumental change was scrapping the old verified status and blue check system. While verification implementation was somewhat flawed (full disclosure: I was granted an old blue check), it maintained a semblance of quality control. While this move alone was detrimental but not lethal, the pivotal misstep was linking verification to the “Twitter Blue” payment system. Suddenly, anyone with $11 USD could feign legitimacy. Coupled with the new blue check class being prioritized by the Twitter algorithm, the platform spiralled downwards. Paying users rocket to the top of discussions, often drowning meaningful discourse as climate deniers and anti-vaxxers gain prominence.

The second drastic change permitted this new blue check class to profit from ad displays on their comments. While sharing profits with creators might sound splendid in theory, the issue arose when the most rage-inducing clickbait content providers, thriving in Twitter’s already toxic environment, reaped the benefits. The more incendiary and anger-inducing your takes, the greater the profit. Moreover, I observed Musk altering the algorithm to favour other clickbaity accounts, often those reiterating trending content from TikTok and Instagram, keeping traffic internal and enhancing those meme-worthy, typically “out of context” accounts.

The third significant shift was the elimination of free access to Tweetdeck (now X Pro). My primary use for Twitter revolved around lists, which allowed me to stay connected with various subjects, especially Latin American communities. Placing this functionality behind a paywall drastically reduced the app’s allure.

A series of smaller decisions continue to erode the service, such as the recent removal of preview cards. Now, sharing an external link only displays a clickable image with the domain name in the bottom corner. Rumour has it likes and retweet counts may be next on the chopping block. It seems Musk won’t rest until every cherished aspect of the old Twitter is eradicated.

Toxicity

The exodus of users since Musk’s takeover has transmuted Twitter into an increasingly bitter space. I’ve always cherished Twitter for its whimsy, a place to relish wholesome content, absorb varied opinions, and enjoy light-hearted memes. This playful environment, especially when it facilitated connections and enjoyment with other academics and professionals, was the main reason to stay in social media. I recall how early Twitter was used for conferences, morphing into a dynamic and robust environment conducive to civil and animated discussions.

However, with the migration from Twitter, academics and other high-quality contributors began departing, paving the way for a more toxic platform. The new Twitter is a place boiling with rage. While the whimsical side remains, it’s often obscured by the algorithm. Whether the anger stems from a lack of meaningful moderation, the reinstatement of banned toxic accounts, the promotion of paid blue check accounts, or a mixture of these factors remains uncertain. However, I’ve observed a distinct deterioration in the level of discussion and a rise in aggressive engagements and pile-ons. Twitter perpetually seethes with anger, and I strongly suspect that this is intentional. Anger maintains engagement, a concept understood for years. In the insightful documentary “Hypernormalisation,” Adam Curtis astutely outlines how this operates. Discussing the ascent of Trump, he remarked:

“The liberals were outraged by Trump, but they expressed their anger in cyberspace — so it had no effect. The algorithms made sure that they only spoke to people who already agreed with them. Instead, ironically, their waves of angry messages and tweets benefited the large corporations who ran the social media platforms. As one analyst put it, ‘angry people click more’.”

Our attention has been hacked. Anger wins.

The rise of other alternatives

One of the reasons for staying far longer than I should have had to do with the lack of alternatives. Mastodon was the platform of choice for many, but I could never get into it, and found it extremely difficult to navigate. Facebook will never be a replacement, and all of the seemingly dozens of alternatives never made any inroads.

Threads appeared to be a potentially viable candidate, but as it was tied with Instagram, it failed to take-off, these apps have very different approaches. But two platforms have emerged to potentially allow people to leave Twitter: Bluesky and LinkedIn. Yes. LinkedIn.

The rise of LinkedIn has been one of the weirdest phenomena in social media, it was always sort of a joke, the social media for work, so it always felt sanitised, stilted, and a little bit cringe, as the kids would say. But it has been getting better, with sharing and more discussion, it has become a pretty decent place to promote events and publications, which used to be one of the main functions of Twitter. So while it still remains a bit cringe and filled with humblebrags, it has been steadily directing more traffic to the blog, to the point at which it tends to redirect more content than Twitter.

Bluesky has been slowly filling up, and while it is still not fully open to the public, I have been enjoying it more and more. It feels a bit like early Twitter, and it also has a less angry vibe to it, although it’s clearly fully left-wing, so there’s always a danger of it becoming an opinion bubble. But it fills the need of getting a dopamine hit.

Concluding

I ceased posting on Twitter six days ago, and the feeling is liberating. While I periodically check my DMs, only a handful of people have noticed my departure, so I may continue to monitor messages regularly. A cursory check confirmed that my decision to depart was justified, revealing a steadily emptying timeline. I’ve opted not to delete my account, clinging to the slim hope that Musk may grow bored and sell the platform, though I recognise this is just a fool’s hope. I’ve also chosen to keep posting blog updates automatically, with replies disabled or reduced, so that I’m not tempted back.

What’s been notably interesting is that I anticipated missing Twitter more than I actually do. Honestly, it feels refreshing, like a burdensome weight has been lifted. I was unaware of how the app’s accumulating negative energy was impacting me, and I am thankful for making this decision. “Never say never” is a prudent course of action, perhaps a future lapse will draw me back in. For now, however, I am content with my choice.

So long and thanks for all the memes.

Post-script (2024)

If you’re reading this in 2024, there’s a very good chance that I’m back on Twitter. I lasted three weeks fully off Twitter, and a couple of months more with limited presence. But I relapsed.

The reasons for hating Twitter are still there, but unfortunately the alternatives aren’t cutting it. LinkedIn is fine for purely professional announcements, so I almost don’t post any conference or presentation announcements on Twitter. However, for all of my other social media needs, only Twitter meets my needs.

The main issue is that Bluesky and Mastodon are completely inadequate for what I need social media to do. It’s not even close. Mastodon is a scolder’s paradise, and Bluesky, while sometimes fun, is very limited, even after opening the app to the public. We shall not even speak of Threads.

So I may have to be back to Twitter for the foreseeable future, please forgive me, for I have sinned.