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Source: http://www.mashable.com
Mashable: After using the app for 24 hours, I happily called it quits.
Another day, another new social media platform to vent your thoughts. It is how the launch of Meta's new app, Thread, the 'killer' of Elon Musk's Twitter, feels like. Although it has been two days since Threads became public, it has garnered over 100 million users. As a result, it impacts Twitter — which, according to Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince — has noticed a decline in users. There are varied factors resulting: Elon Musk's new policies, or recently, limiting daily posts for users. Naturally, Threads became an escape for people who still want Twitter-like features, but without the negativities.
Or at least, that is what they thought. As Zuckerberg fights to build the ultimate social media app, he is also doing so to ensure advertisers stay on. It has to be a win-win situation. And so, Threads falter with privacy. It's why it has not been launched in European Union nations. On the Apple store, Threads states that personal data can collect, including health and fitness, financial information, contacts, browsing history, and location. Secondly, one can download Threads on their phone with an Instagram ID, but once they have linked the accounts, the only way to delete Threads is by deleting the Instagram profile. Thirdly, The Guardian reported a surge of right-wing figures taking over Threads, posting misinformation and hate speech to test how far they can go.
While Threads is a stripped-down version of Twitter, it seems much more claustrophobic. With that, I mean the 'feed' is only limited to people you follow, sometimes seeing the post of people you follow back to back. Sure, it is new, and there is a long way to go, but Threads is just another echo chamber. Not to mention, it will feed into the same celebrity culture or people often blowing on their trumpets. Twitter, when it was launched, was the best place to receive real-time, quality news. It still is a place to get the go-to opinion from real-world professionals, despite being run down by Musk's policies. However, Threads, which seemed more focused on lighter notes of life or entertainment, will never be able to take Twitter's place. As The Daily Show's writer, Jason O. Gilbert, asked succinctly, "Are bland, micromanaged Instagram celebs suddenly going to have something interesting to say during a presidential debate?"
Moreover, Threads follow the same people you already know on Instagram. So instead of images, these people will have to use words to describe their day or opinions. Considering many users come to Instagram for celebrities or memes, Threads' contribution, thus, will be the same. If you are not following anyone from Instagram, Threads will use a similar algorithm as Instagram and pop-up content you may have looked up. As Ryan Broderick, author of the influential newsletter Garbage Day, notes Threads: An “anti-culture nothingness that does well on Facebook or Instagram.”
With each app losing its creativity, it all points in the direction that we, as people, evolve. Sometimes, an app that holds meaning will lose so with time. Much like children who loved a toy began to lose interest in it. Moreover, the barrage of content across all platforms seems similar, except Reddit. The only difference is the audience they are trying to gauge. For instance, Twitter's breaking news culture has decayed and turned into something vicious. Facebook, which allowed you to connect with people across continent, has lost its lustre, and Instagram's easy way to share "good" images is used to promote influencers and brands. Reddit, perhaps, remains the only platform where people humbly speak to one another, sharing real-time advice and information.
Threads can't lead to Twitter's demise, it is, after all, just a replica to fuel Meta's growth. Perhaps, with time, it will become as obsolete as Facebook, and if it survives, then as crowded as Instagram. Either way, many apps hope to have the rigour once Twitter did, but many fail to recreate that energy.