Twitter is being threatened by younger users.
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There have been recent reports that younger people are now leaving – or at least threatening to leave – Twitter following Elon Musk’s purchase of the social media platform last month. However, it’s not just happening in the United States. Fair Betting Sites conducted a survey and found that 41% would abandon the platform.
Musk is only one of the factors that may be causing a Twitter exodus among young people from the U.S., UK and elsewhere in Europe and Asia.
Since early 2016, Twitter has experienced a steady decline in the number of users who are both Millennials and Generation Z. A YPulse study earlier in the year found that Twitter’s declining popularity among young users, aside from a slight increase in March 2018, is part of a continuing trend. It found that in March 2016, 51% of Millennials and 42% of Gen Z respondents said they used the platform – while that number has fallen to 32% and 28% respectively.
Twitter Exodus
It is important to take seriously the fact that many young users threaten to quit. Musk’s policies will not reverse this decline, even though it has been steady over many years.
“This survey doesn’t surprise and should be of concern to Twitter and its investors,” said technology analyst and social media trend watcher Susan Schreiner of C4 Trends.
Schreiner said that Gen Z and Millennials proved they can follow their convictions, and they have done so in response to the U.S. Election results. A new philosophy seems to be emerging against such a backdrop.
Gen Zers, Millennials and Gen Zers are signaling their readiness for social media corrections. They will leave Twitter under Musk if it does not offer a safe platform that has guardrails.
Schreiner stated, “Survey data appears to indicate that due their anti-authoritarian tendencies Musk is a turnoff based his tweets or business decisions.”
Musk’s Vision For Twitter
Musk may have claimed to be a total freedom of speech extremist but many Twitter users don’t like what’s being allowed.
This is why Gen Z and Millennials don’t want it.
“They were raised in times when the Internet was changing from its noble beginnings as an innocent town square, to the unexpected consequences of becoming a platform for misinformation spreading and hate. Schreiner stated that the Internet and social media sites like Twitter became an area for bullying and other harmful behavior. “The evidence is mounting that Millennials and Gen Zers indicate they’ve had enough, and since they are now of age – they are ready to be the catalyst for change for good even if it means abandoning Twitter.”
It is unlikely, however that this mass departures will be sufficient to alter the way Twitter works under Musk.
Schreiner argued that Musk wouldn’t have listened to major advertisers who placed their campaigns on hold and revenue streams for Twitter during the holiday season. “
Further, she explained how Twitter and social media were discussed at a Las Vegas health technology event called HLTH. It’s possible that there will be a Twitter replacement sooner than you would think, according to thought leaders. It could be easier than Mastadon and safer than TikTok. And it would likely have more substance than Instagram.
Schreiner stated that “the market is ready to accept an alternative.” Musk’s latest moves in social media will accelerate defections, and serve as a catalyst to competitive innovation within the space.
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