When Twitter was first created in 2006, it was regarded as a fun microblogging site for people to share the mundane aspects of their lives with their friends. Simple things such as what someone ate for breakfast were common parts of the site. As time went on, Twitter evolved into a social media giant. Since its inception, Twitter has dealt with a variety of issues including how to make money and how to police bad actors who use the site for nefarious purposes.
The recent purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk has brought to light what many of us have known for some time — the platform is a mess! Twitter is not a profitable company. Much of the revenue it generates is from advertising, and it is estimated that around half of all advertisers have distanced themselves from the site since Musk took over. Twitter’s inability to make money has always called into question its future. As consumers of a product, it is important for us to know how a company makes its money, especially if it involves the use of our data.
The number of people who use Twitter to incite reactions and get into arguments is countless. This echo chamber has limited our ability to have meaningful political conversations, even resulting in our world views being manipulated. The most hateful, extreme people have gone to Twitter to cause chaos, and that’s what the platform is frequently used for today.
The time has come for Twitter to go away. It is not enough for people to delete their accounts; it would best to let Twitter become the next MySpace. This experiment in communication showed us that the most hateful people among us are capable of controlling how we view the world through algorithmic manipulation. Their tactics are vile, and we should never allow the most extremely minded people to make us feel bad about being reasonable or thinking critically.
If you have a Twitter account, I encourage you to delete it. If you are not comfortable deleting your account, delete as much information as you can from the platform. Do not allow Elon Musk, or anyone else, to gather information on you or manipulate your views on important issues. Do not take part in a service that is being used to incite hatred and anger. Together we can put an end to Twitter. The sooner Twitter is gone, the sooner a better alternative can take its place.