Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, expressed concern two years ago about the potential division and hate that could arise from social media becoming echo chambers for extreme political ideologies. However, it seems that Musk’s own platform, now called X, has taken a direction that many find repulsive. As a result, there has been an exodus from the platform in Britain, especially after Musk made controversial statements during the summer riots. Some users have left X entirely while others continue to lurk or seek alternative platforms like Meta’s Threads app or Bluesky.
Data from Similarweb shows a noticeable decline in daily active users on X in the UK over the past year. The number has dropped from 8 million to around 5.6 million, with a significant portion of this decline occurring after the riots. This trend is not limited to banned countries like Brazil; even in the US, X has seen a decrease of about one-fifth in active users over 16 months.
Disillusioned X users are finding solace on alternative sites such as Meta’s Threads app or Bluesky. While Threads currently boasts more daily active users (1.4 million) compared to Bluesky (just over 100,000), Bluesky has experienced rapid growth and is becoming popular among media professionals and intellectuals.
However, there is concern that these alternative platforms may also become echo chambers where like-minded individuals gather and reinforce their viewpoints without engaging with diverse perspectives. Many see this as reminiscent of “old Twitter,” where progressive voices dominated political discussions until Musk took over.
The question arises whether having an online space for civil discourse without encountering offensive content is beneficial or if it perpetuates echo chambers instead of fostering understanding through engagement with differing opinions.
While some argue that creating a digital town square is impossible due to inherent limitations of online interactions compared to face-to-face encounters with real people, others believe it is preferable to fragmented echo chambers. Ironically, Elon Musk himself warned about this danger but may have inadvertently contributed to its realization.
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