SAN FRANCISCO — One year ago, billionaire and new owner Elon Musk walked into Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters with a white bathroom sink and a grin, fired its CEO and other top executives and began transforming the social media platform into what is now known as X.
X looks and feels something like Twitter, but the more time you spend on it the clearer it becomes that it’s merely an approximation. Musk has dismantled core features of what made Twitter, Twitter — its name and blue bird logo, its verification system, its Trust and Safety advisory group. Not to mention content moderation and hate speech enforcement.
He also fired, laid off or lost the majority of its workforce — engineers who keep the site running, moderators who keep it from being overrun with hate, executives in charge of making rules and enforcing them.
FILE – A workman removes a character from a sign on the Twitter headquarters building in San Francisco, July 24, 2023. One year ago, Elon Musk began transforming the social media platform into what is now known as X. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
The result, long-term Twitter watchers say, has been the end of the platform’s role as an imperfect but useful place to find out what’s going on in the world. What X will become, and whether Musk can achieve his ambition of turning it into an “everything app” that everyone uses, remains as unclear as it was a year ago.
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“Musk hasn’t managed to make a single meaningful improvement to the platform and is no closer to his vision of an ‘everything app,’ than he was a year ago,” said Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg. “Instead, X has driven away users, advertisers, and now it has lost its primary value proposition in the social media world: Being a central hub for news.”
As one of the platform’s most popular and prolific users even before he bought the company, Musk had a unique experience on Twitter that is markedly different from how regular users experience it. But many of the changes he’s introduced to X has been based on his own impressions of the site — in fact, he even polled his millions of followers for advice on how to run it (they said he should step down).
“Musk’s treatment of the platform as a technology company that he could remake and his vision rather than a social network fueled by people and ad dollars has been the single largest cause of the demise of Twitter,” Enberg said.
FILE – Twitter’s blue bird is seen on its headquarters building in San Francisco, July 24, 2023. One year ago, Elon Musk began transforming the social media platform into what is now known as X. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)
The blue checkmarks that once signified that the person or institution behind an account was who they said they are — a celebrity, athlete, journalist from global or local publication, a nonprofit agency — now merely shows that someone pays $8 a month for a subscription service that boosts their posts above un-checked users. It’s these paying accounts that have been found to spread misinformation on the platform that is often amplified by its algorithms.
On Thursday, for instance, a new report from the left-leaning nonprofit Media Matters found that numerous blue-checked X accounts with tens of thousands of followers claimed that the mass shooting in Maine was a “false flag,” planned by the government. Researchers also found such accounts spreading misinformation and propaganda about the Israel-Hamas war — so much so that the European Commission made a formal, legally binding request for information to X over its handling of hate speech, misinformation and violent terrorist content related to the war.
Ian Bremmer, a prominent foreign policy expert, posted on X this month that the level of disinformation on the Israel-Hamas war “being algorithmically promoted” on the platform “is unlike anything I’ve ever been exposed to in my career as a political scientist.”
File – A pile of characters removed from a sign on the Twitter headquarters building are seen in San Francisco, Monday, July 24, 2023. One year ago, Elon Musk began transforming the social media platform into what is now known as X. (AP Photo/Godofredo A.Vásquez, File)
It’s not just the platform’s identity that’s on shaky grounds. Twitter was already struggling financially when Musk purchased it for $44 billion in a deal that closed Oct. 27, 2022, and the situation appears more precarious today. Musk took the company private, so its books are no longer public — but in July, the Tesla CEO said the company had lost about half of its advertising revenue and continues to face a large debt load.
“We’re still negative cash flow,” he posted on the site on July 14, due to a about a “50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load.”
“Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else,” he said.
In May, Musk hired Linda Yaccarino, a former NBC executive with deep ties to the advertising industry in an attempt to lure back top brands, but the effort has been slow to pay off. While some advertisers have returned to X, they are not spending as much as they did in the past — despite a rebound in the online advertising market that boosted the most recent quarterly profits for Facebook parent company, Meta, and Google parent company, Alphabet.
Insider Intelligence estimates that X will bring in $1.89 billion in advertising revenue this year, down 54% from 2022. The last time its ad revenue was near this level was in 2015, when it came in at $1.99 billion. In 2022, it was $4.12 billion.
Outside research also shows that people are using X less.
File – Workers install lighting on an “X” sign atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in San Francisco, on July 28, 2023. One year ago, Elon Musk began transforming the social media platform into what is now known as X. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
According to research firm Similarweb, global web traffic to Twitter.com was down 14%, year-over-year, and traffic to the ads.twitter.com portal for advertisers was down 16.5%. Performance on mobile was no better, down 17.8% year-over-year based on combined monthly active users for Apple’s iOS and Android.
“Even though the cultural relevance of Twitter was already starting to decline,” before Musk took it over, “it’s as if the platform no longer exists. And it’s been a death by a thousand cuts,” Enberg said.
“What’s really fascinating is that almost all of the wounds have been self-inflicted. Usually when a social platform, starts to lose its relevance there are at least some external factors at play, but that’s not the case here.”x
How to take a break from social media
Be easy on yourself and ask for help about social media use
“If you’re reading this article, kudos to you for thinking about reevaluating social media,” Agarwal said Trying to meet your goals is all about celebrating the small wins.
At the least, set small benchmarks for yourself like spending 10 minutes less on social media than the day before. The right amount of social media time is different for everyone since some people actually use these apps to brand and help market themselves. Find your own social media sweet spot, and remember, even if you scroll too much on social media one day, you can try and meet your goal tomorrow.
Another way to keep you on track is to share your goal with someone you trust. A friend or loved one who can kindly nudge you when they notice you’ve been on social media for awhile.
Helpful exercise to remind you what you’re missing by scrolling
Scrolling through social media while hanging out with friends isn’t uncommon nowadays, but when you think about how unengaged you are in those moments, it can put social media use into perspective.
Agarwal suggests the next time you’re in a room with others at a family or friends gathering and you see yourself scrolling through social media instead of engaging with others, take a minute to physically remove yourself from the room and isolate in another room. Listen and feel how much you may be missing out on.
“What that does is it gives your brain a signal. If you force yourself to leave the room, you realize how much you’re using that app and missing out on other people,” Agarwal said. “It’s a good physical reminder of being present in the moment and not on your on your phone and scrolling through social media.”
Use your phone’s screen-time tracking feature and limit social media use
Most smart phones nowadays track your screen-time and usage already. It’s a good idea to figure out your average screen time per day so you have a benchmark that you can work on.
On iPhone, you can go into your “Screen Time” settings, which displays the amount of time you spend on each app and allows you to put timers on specific apps to limit how long you’re on them. Android phones have similar features in the “Digital Wellbeing” settings. Additionally, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok offer the same features within the app settings themselves.
Physically distance yourself from your phone and apps
When you’re at home and have free time, put your phone in a drawer or somewhere you can’t see it. Oftentimes limiting the ability to quickly and easily pick up your phone is enough to keep you off of social media, said Agarwal. If your phone is what keeps your hands from fidgeting, try to have some objects around the house that relieve stress, like a stress ball, fidget toy or yarn and crochet hooks.
Hide your social media apps on your phone by placing the app on the second or third page of your home screen or bury the app inside an “app folder” with a bunch of others. When you’re waiting in line or have a free five minutes, instead of grabbing your phone — take in the view, practice some breathing exercises or read a book.
Benefits of taking a social media break
Ever hear of “text neck?” It’s the result of looking down at our phones when scrolling or texting, straining the neck muscles over a long period of time. Taking a break from social media helps relieve neck pain and gives your eyes a break from bright screens.
People may also be more connected than ever through social media, but a 2018 University of Pennsylvania study found that people who limit their time on social media experience less depression and feelings of loneliness.
Taking a break from social media will give you better sleep, too. Research suggests that nighttime use of social media is driven by FOMO (fear of missing out), and keeps people scrolling longer at night instead of going to sleep.
Reevaluate what you want out of social media
What is the reason that brought you onto social media? This is the question Agarwal said to ask yourself when trying to figure out if it’s time to take a social media break. If you’re not getting the same satisfaction from the reason you use social media, it may be time to look for alternatives.
If you joined social media to…
1. Find community: Look for clubs and groups in your neighborhood where you can meet and interact with others IRL (in real life).
2. Be inspired: Consume other forms of media like magazines, books, podcasts, movies or live events.
3. Buy and sell things: Try using other apps, like OfferUp or NextDoor, or visiting local events and marketplaces in person.
Two and a half hours.
Two and a half hours — that’s the average amount of time people spend on social media each day.
It may not sound like a lot, but that time can really add up — and at what cost? Social media has proven negative effects on mental health (especially for teens), self-image and for some is a huge time-waster.
University of Penn’s Anish Agarwal, an emergency physician, researcher, and deputy director for the Center for Digital Health, said it’s important to constantly be reevaluating the role social media plays in daily life.
The bottom line: taking a break from social media is healthy for you. Read on for guidance and tools to help you limit screen time on these apps.
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