Is it time to move on from X?

As I have witnessed Katri Bertram’s brave advocacy campaign in recent weeks to quit X, now finalized in a hard-hitting blog,  “It’s time to move on from X”, let me try to weigh in on this issue as we’re heading for the end of the year.

For the time being, I’ve taken a different decision, combining both ‘X’ and ‘Bluesky’ – though I’m still “tweeting” a lot more from X, for now.

I do subscribe to most of Katri’s arguments on the ‘human rights’ issue & ‘toxic environment’ that X has become, due to Musk, while being well aware that ‘X’ is for some even more toxic (eg: women with a different colour) than for others.  I’m less convinced it’s an issue of ‘followers’ though.

My own take:

-          I’m no fan of what Musk has done to this platform. And I’m no fan of Musk in general, and a lot of what he stands for (by way of example, I hate his views on trade unions, and his own company policies in this respect).  I also certainly admit that ‘X’ has a lot more ‘noise’ than, say, a year ago – when for every 10 tweets on my feed, 1 or sometimes 2 were highly relevant.

-          Still, the same is true for, say, Jeff Bezos & Michael O’Ryan, whom I hate to the same extent, while for these, I seem to have far less of an issue to boycott their companies.

-          Personally, I  consider, for the time being, ‘X’ as my preferred social medium to get a sense of what’s going on in the world (including all the ugliness, sadly), unfiltered, even trolled, with some conspiracy theories, etc. Whereas ‘Bluesky’ feels a bit more like a ‘safe space’, at least for now. Where I hope I can also (and increasingly?) get some good content-related discussions, perhaps more with scientists (who don’t want to spend time anymore on X, for a number of reasons, which is clearly their right).  Put differently, for the time being, I’m (still) willing to put up with a certain amount of ‘toxicity ‘ on X. As it still provides me with something I don’t get from Bluesky (or alternatives). If only, for example, to see what we’re up against, as radical-right wing parties are gaining momentum in many areas of the world.

-          Also, for all its flaws (and undeniable increased toxicity), X is still the main ‘public platform’ where a big chunk of the public conversation happens. Sadly, not like one year ago – I also miss the moderating, as I’m well aware that what we have ‘won’ in terms of radical-right vile voices, we have lost in terms of many others, who have left the platform.  

-          Why do I think ‘X’ is still the main public platform?   Just two indicators: many leaders (eg. Dr Tedros – who certainly has to put up with plenty of toxicity and trolls himself) still use X to get their messages out, including to discuss with opponents, or tackle clear disinformation. And I have noticed that even many of the ones in global health who have now ‘Bluesky’ or ‘Mastodon’ accounts, do use these accounts as well to spread some of their messages on X. If that’s the case, they might have as well kept their X accounts too : )

 

Anyway, just some quick reflections to kick off this week. I’m sure there’s a lot more to say. And as mentioned: the question on which social media we are and/or remain, is a personal one.  Everybody has to decide that for themselves.