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How Did Twitter Turn Into a ‘Smoking Area’ of Social Media?

Can you still remember the reason why you installed Twitter? Mine would probably be because I thought this was the best option to get noticed by your idols. Kind of funny, but for a 14-year-old me, this was a dream to fulfill. And so I made my very first Twitter account and the rest is history.

It was in 2015 when I became acquainted with such an app, 9 years after it was established. I can still recall the euphoric state I am in every time I have the chance to tweet. The teenage me felt some sort of relief knowing that outside Facebook, there is a space to pause and breathe in.

How did Twitter turn into a “smoking area” of social media?

That is it – breathe in, somewhere my wandering mind can find comfort and peace. With Twitter’s primary intent to do microblogging, users find themselves adept at its features, including posting, liking, and retweeting tweets. Whether it is through the mobile app or desktop, everyone finds it easy to share and relate with others. It is as if one gets another, no matter how diverse. After all, that is how all other social media networks are, connecting users worldwide.

Photo Source: Leon Neal | Getty Images

Over the years, Twitter introduced a myriad of interface updates. From increasing its then 140-limit to 280 characters, polls, Twitter Spaces, and Fleets (which is already gone, by the way) among others. All these changes provided popularity growth for Twitter compared to other platforms. Now that I think about it, who would not feel encouraged to be one of its active users?

And so when I came across a tweet saying “Twitter is like the smoking area for social media,” it made sense how this bird app exerted influence on most of the penetrated market. Much like the ambiance of a smoking area, you will become exposed to a defiant world. There is something beyond smoking that people would want to relax and hang around. You smoked, you conversed, and you met a lot of strangers, of which you surprisingly share the same interests.

Just like the common space (to whichever this applies) given away by smokers, Twitter has also exhibited a go-to-place of relief or deliverance from worries or stress. When everything else in the online and offline world got toxic, it provided a temporary escape to its massive audience. In a kind of way, Twitter sparked a handful of substantial, worth-reading discussions online.

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Photo Source: Carlos Barria | Reuters

Should we be concerned that such a notion existed?

Like any other social media platform, Twitter, too, has its pros and cons. While it is no secret that it is not as entirely good as people think it should be, the app continued to make progress in terms of information dissemination. Sixteen years from where it all started, it remained beneficial in acquiring the latest news, work and career-related scoops, and many more. Considering Twitter’s 280-character limit, believe it or not, it was able to touch many lives.

Regardless of how it appeared addictive and harmful, similar to the chemicals from smoke, Twitter played an integral role in today’s fast-paced world. That is why when the news about its nearing collapse popped out, many users who find a little hidey-hole within this app, expressed thoughts once the blue bird dies. If this happens, we can only hope that the thousands of communities built in the Twitter world will not be the same as cigar ash, needing to be disposed of.

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