#280characters: Users React to Twitter’s Character-limit Increase

In light of Twitter’s major 280-character upgrade, corresponding hashtag #280Characters soared to the top as users began to share thoughts, jokes and opinions on the highlyanticipated move. And while it was hard for many loyal users to outgrow the platform’s signature 140-character limit, others welcomed the update by attempting longer tweets. But overall, it was the funny jokes and sarcastic reactions that took center stage, with the majority of hashtaggers jumping in to add their two cents on the new feature. Twitter itself, on the other hand, noted that only 1 percent of tweets hit the character limit after the expansion to 280, as opposed to 9 percent of tweets under the 140-character rule, historically speaking.