It has become the fashion to leave Twitter/X and take up social media residence on BlueSky. This in reaction to Elon Musk who was once a staunch Democrat but has left the Democratic Party with a vengeance. The assumption is that as a Trump supporting Republican, Elon has completely tainted the Twitter/X platform, rendering it unpalatable for liberal Democrats. As a Twitter/X user since 2011, I disagree. (In a small gesture of defiance I will henceforth just refer to the platform as Twitter.)
 |
| Goodbye To All That |
Twitter is all things to all people. I can only compare it to Facebook as I have no other social media vices and of the two, Twitter is more versatile. Facebook has more users by far than any other platform and is primarily used for posting to real friends and family members but usually also includes "Friends" the user doesn't personally know but had some connection to, as in six degrees of separation to Kevin Bacon. Other platforms, Twitter included, are better suited for following sports, celebrities, a wide range of influencers, and news.
The beauty and strength of Twitter is that it can be completely customized to fit the user's interests and intentions. People of influence and would be influencers count success by number of followers whereas I have no interest in gaining followers and routinely block or get rid of random strangers who attempt to follow me. My sole interest as a Twitter user is to be informed about breaking news and the political implications. I only follow about 200 people of influence and I choose them carefully. I want to hear from Independent and often dissident voices so that I don't end up in a tribal bubble on either end of the political spectrum. It doesn't surprise me that the majority of Twitter users have a similar intention.
Why People Use Twitter
X/Twitter is predominantly used for getting the news. Other commonly reported activities on the platform include researching brands, looking for entertaining content.
Here’s the complete list of commonly reported activities on Twitter among users aged 16-64 worldwide:
| Activity | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Keep up to date with news and current events | 60.6% |
| Follow or research brands and products | 34.9% |
| Look for funny or entertaining content | 34.8% |
| Post or share photos or videos | 27% |
| Message friends and family | 19.2% |
Source: DataReportal
Liberal Democrats remember the glory days of Twitter when it was owned by Jack Dorsey, a Democrat whose employees were predominantly and not surprisingly, also Democrats. There was definitely a bias as to who got censored and banned; Donald Trump being the most controversial banning since he was President of the United States at the time. Twitter was a congenial club for liberals but still very much considered a world-wide platform for serious political discussion and debate as well.
The take over by Elon Musk in 2022 was like an online earthquake felt round the world. Elon vowed to end the censorship practices of former Twitter staffers and he introduced a different and more eccentric methodology that is more difficult to decipher than the one replaced. While Twitter still includes news and debate from across the political spectrum, Democrats understandably don't feel the same level of comfort. Hence the fleeing to BlueSky where they hope to recreate the agreeableness of pre-Elon X while making a political statement by leaving.
The shock and severity of the Democratic Party loses in the 2024 election made clear how little the Trump and Harris voters understand each other. Conventional news sources are so slanted to one view or the other that they represent two separate realities. Twitter/X may be messier than Democrats would enjoy but it does still feature all political viewpoints and allows for real discussion and debate. When users fleeing Twitter/X say they are looking for more civil discourse, perhaps they are really saying they want to stay within tribal guidelines on heated topics.
It all comes back to Jack Dorsey. He cofounded both Twitter and BlueSky. He presided over a kinder, gentler Twitter with enforced moderation to rein in what his staff considered too much freedom of speech. Elon Musk's X is rough and tumble. No one can ever comfortably be sure of Musk's true agenda, but X is the wild west of social media while Dorsey's BlueSky is those gently rolling hills of home.
