Bye bye Twitter. Adieu. Farewell. I’ll be off then. I can’t take it anymore. I have to call it a day. Twitter is screwed and Microblogging as well.

In 2008, I fell in love with Twitter. I fell in love with it because it was like a living meeting place, full of voices from all over the world. It was a place where news was shared instantly and unfiltered, movements and initiatives gained strength and even the quietest voices could be heard. And it was the place to be for the lastest news and rumors.

For me, Twitter was more than just a platform; it was a community, a source of inspiration, a beacon of digital democracy, a place of freedom that always managed to retain its independence and individuality, even alongside numerous large social networks.

But since Elon Musk has been in charge, the Twitter I knew is dissolving, forcing me to retreat.

The leaving of long-time users really hurts. They were the heart of Twitter. Every time someone leaves, Twitter loses a piece of its diversity and spirit. The energy that once defined Twitter disappears.

Under Elon Musk, Twitter has undergone many changes that have left me and many others astonished, annoyed and downright speechless. And it never ends.

The log of horror:

• Renaming Twitter: Musk renamed Twitter “X” to turn it into an “everything app”
• Disbanding trust and safety teams: Musk disbanded trust and safety teams, lifted bans on extremist accounts and removed anti-disinformation features like Blue Check verification
• Downsizing: Musk laid off around 50% of Twitter employees, causing unrest within the company and disrupting its operations
• Moderation changes: Musk reinstated banned users like Donald Trump
• Lack of transparency: The replacement of user verification with a paid system
• Overhaul of Twitter’s business model: Musk has been criticized for its impact on user experience, content quality and the overall functionality of the platform

Twitter is fucked. I’ve lost hope that Twitter will get back to what it used to be. At least as long as Elon Musk is at the helm. I’ll be back when Elon’s gone. Maybe.

My digital home of the last decade has become contaminated and uninhabitable. All the familiar faces, the different subject matter communities — they have emigrated, scattered, spread out, fallen silent, disappeared. I am moving on. I actually wanted to move on with the social media traveling circus, to Bluesky or Threads or Mastodon. And now I’m everywhere but have lost most of my companions in the process. And I don’t like either of these platforms.

Perhaps this is also a sign of the times. It’s not just Twitter that is on the wane. Microblogging as a whole has seen its best days.

Of course, there are now too many different social networks and microblogging services, but there are numerous other factors contributing to the situation. Privacy concerns, dissatisfaction with platform policies
introduction of subscription-based models, sympathies with decentralised models and the unpredictable algorithm designs are just a few reasons.

The trend away from text-based formats towards multimedia formats such as stories, photos, reels, videos on Facebook, Tik-Tok, Instagram is also not helpful for the future of Microblogging. The new formats and platforms are all vying for our attention and time.

After two decades of social networks, many have grown tired. A permanent online presence and constant nudging via notifications are exhausting. Quite a few react by withdrawing from public or semi-public platforms and find themselves back in private messaging groups such as WhatsApp or Telegram. More privacy and small, personal communities also have their advantages.

I feel the same way. The unbearable situation on Twitter has been the death knell for my microblogging activities. In fact, it’s been a long time coming. My media behaviour has changed substantially in recent months: I’m writing again and I’m reading again. I’m making more time for both again and attaching importance to sources and information.

As a result, I have renewed my NY Times subscription, reactivated my old Medium account and found too new habits.

• New York Times and The Guardian instead of endless Facebook or LinkedIn scrolling
• Audible and podcasts while traveling
• E-books instead of Netflix binging
• Udemy account for securing knowledge

I have gained a lot of time to explore new topics or to pursue long-standing areas of interest in a more substantial way.

So Twitter’s demise is a good thing after all. Thanks Elon! I won’t be back.

And where are you now? And what do you think? Drop a note in the comments.