Should Twitter become my X?
I was scrolling on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter the other day when I got a notification that it was my 13th anniversary of joining.
In the words of the late Jerry Garcia, “What a long strange trip it's been.”
It's hard to believe that Twitter was only five years old when I signed up, and I was still in my 40s.
I remember the shiny newness of it then; the exciting potential it offered for making contact with people around the world in a new way in 140 characters or less. (The expansion to 280 characters came in 2017).
GREAT PLATFORM
It was a great platform for promoting the work of my journalism colleagues and my own work as a columnist.
I loved “meeting” local readers there and interacting with them. Sometimes, posting a link to a newspaper article or a column would start a lively conversation.
I especially appreciated the democratic nature of the posts; citizens could address politicians and others in authority directly if they were active on the platform, without gobetweens to deflect blunt questions.
DOWNSIDES
Of course, there are downsides to unfettered access, as well. Like all social media platforms, Twitter (now X) runs 24/7.
If someone is challenged or questioned in a post that they simply don't see – because they're asleep, say, or on vacation or hard at work – they can be criticized publicly for being unresponsive or uncaring or unaccountable, and those conversations can rage on for hours while the target is oblivious.
LOTS OF LOATHING
Having been a target myself – and, as someone who writes opinion pieces, I fully expect to be contradicted – I can tell you it's a soulcrushing experience.
I enjoy hearing from like-minded people as well as from those with different points of view; it's the vicious ad hominem attacks I can do without.
X, unfortunately, makes it very easy for people to cloak themselves in anonymity and blast out terse spurts of hate all day long.
And do they ever. Mention Justin Trudeau or Pierre Poilievre in a post and stand back.
There's a lot of loathing in the Twittersphere.
WHEN PETTINESS BECOMES TOO MUCH
Wired magazine reported that back when Twitter was launched in 2006, then-CEO Jack Dorsey described it as “a place for ‘short burst(s) of inconsequential information.'”
It is certainly that, and so much more.
There are days when the pettiness and the peevishness and the prurience all become too much; days when you feel like you've had to cut through a seedy back alley and there's something rotten stuck to the bottom of your shoe.
MUSK'S CHANGES
Under Elon Musk's ownership, X has loosened the reins on comment moderation and it can feel a bit like a free-for-all in freefall.
Musk has already started charging $8 US a month for “X Premium,” for people who want verified account status.
He's also signalled his plan to soon implement a monthly fee for anyone who wants to post on the platform in an attempt to eliminate the proliferation of bots on the site.
It remains to be seen if people will be willing to pay.
STILL WORTH IT?
After 13 years, is X still worth it? Mostly not.
I rarely see posts from many of the local people I follow, and my timeline is often cluttered with junk ads and pop-culture surveys that purport to reveal something deep and meaningful about your soul.
MOMENTS OF JOY
But there are still fleeting moments of joy to be found.
Twitter – X – is at its best when it enables a sense of community.
When people raise awareness of politics and policies that deserve closer scrutiny.
When people come together to rally around someone in need or to offer support to the family of a sick child.
When people celebrate moments of achievement, large and small, and offer encouragement to someone who may be feeling low or lonely.
When people are willing to share something of themselves to inspire others – their paintings and pottery, poetry and photography, embroidery and empathy, gardening and generosity of spirit.
For those bright threads, I'll stick around for now.