Since Elon Musk took over Twitter and renamed it X, something has been wrong in the state of Denmark. This is the criticism of the billionaire entrepreneur’s latest catch, who announced when he bought the short message service that he wanted to ensure more freedom of expression. Censorship should be a thing of the past. Musk says.
His critics interpreted this as an attempt to make populist opinions and thus hatred and agitation socially acceptable again. Since Musk’s loud support for Donald Trump in the US election campaign, many have seen their opinions confirmed. Celebrities and companies publicly announce that they no longer want to be part of X.
This is your right, because no one is forced to belong to an online social network. It is also true that the tone on X has become harsher and the consensus has become weaker. But it is not true that Twitter was once a place of discourse culture freed from anger and stupidity. Even before Musk, it was already about the power of saying the supposedly right thing at the right moment. Anyone who had an opinion about something immediately trumpeted it.
X/Twitter has made shitstorms a common method
The Internet service became a top-speed news source and helped in political and sometimes private emergencies. The MeToo movement might never have existed. But the shitstorm culture that can no longer be eliminated today was also formed via Twitter. As soon as something is perceived as an area of outrage, emotional hashtag messages rush through the internet.
Even though X may have a different corridor of opinion that has moved further to the right, the problem is different. The narcissistic desire to be the first to report information is a nuisance. Stuffing every feeling and every thought unfiltered into a tweet, ideally garnished with ironic humor (in order to be less vulnerable), is actually a burden.
So if a lot of people are now leaving The same problems exist elsewhere (soon probably more clearly on Facebook), no one seems to want to try to improve things. And the less political or social discussion in words and images, the more there is a struggle to seduce the minds of young people in particular (see TikTok).
You feel like you’re on the right side with the social media Xit (sic!). But either there are a few other services that you want to continue to be loyal to, or alternatives are being looked for. Then unsubscribe from everyone straight away, ideally without saying it out loud.