Is social media destroying civilisation? Today Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta launches Threads, its rival to Elon Musk’s Twitter. The winner will be able to influence billions of people.
Tech billionaires launch 'ultimate battle'
Is social media destroying civilisation? Today Mark Zuckerberg's Meta launches Threads, its rival to Elon Musk's Twitter. The winner will be able to influence billions of people.
Oprah WinfreyAn American talk show host and media personality. has a problem. She is one of the biggest names on Twitter - but now MetaThe new name of the company which owns Facebook and Instagram. has been in touch, suggesting that she defect to its new app, Threads. If she moves, she risks losing some of her 42.2 million followers. But a lot of people are unhappy with Twitter's owner, Elon MuskA South African-born entrepreneur whose companies have included the online payment service PayPal. He now controls Twitter, renamed 'X'.. Should she stay or should she go?
Meta's spokesman Chris Cox very much hopes she will move over: "We've been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run, that they believe that they can trust."
Meta describes Threads as an app where users can connect with others who love the same things "or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity". It looks very similar to Twitter, with features such as liking, reposting and limiting who can reply to posts.
By linking Threads to Instagram, Meta hopes it will instantly attract millions of users. Some people, though, are concerned about privacy: the app can collect data about your health, finances, location and shopping habits.
Twitter has had many problems since Elon Musk bought it in October. His lift on bans for far-right users has been particularly controversial.
People are also unhappy about changes to the way Twitter works. Until last week, anyone could look at tweets; now users are having to log in first. And on Saturday Musk introduced temporary limits on the number of posts a user could view.
Another bone of contention is the introduction of Twitter Blue, whose range of extra features is only available to people who pay. Musk has just ruled that anyone who wants to use TweetDeckA tool that allows you to post from multiple Twitter accounts. - previously free - has to join Twitter Blue. So does anyone who wants their account verified, meaning that people are more likely to trust it.
There have also been technical glitches, making the site unavailable at times. These have been attributed to Musk trying to save money by slashing its staff.
All this has made Twitter less attractive to advertisers, and encouraged rivals such as Bluesky and Mastodon. But Threads will be its biggest challenger by far.
The stakes are enormous. There are an estimated 4.89 billion social-media users in the world, spending an average of 147 minutes a day looking at their accounts. The sites attract more than £180bn in advertising revenue per year. On average, everyone in the world owns two mobile phones - over 16 billion in total.1
Writing in Foreign Policy, Howard W French argues that if Musk's behaviour destroys Twitter it will be a "geopolitical catastrophe" for the democratic world. For all its faults, Twitter has made information far more freely available, in a way that terrifies authoritarianEnforcing strict obedience to authority. governments.
But in Unherd, Ed West argues that those faults are too many. Twitter lets users with large numbers of followers get away with "extreme incivilityRude behaviour., incitement to violence and even racial hatred". Social media and democracy, he suggests, are essentially incompatible.
<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Is social media destroying civilisation?</strong></h5>
Yes: It fuels toxic debates by giving a platform to hateful and divisive views. It also eats up time that could be spent doing constructive or relaxing things and interacting with people in real life.
No: It gives a voice to people who are ignored by the mainstream media and is a force for democratic change. It allows you to communicate with others who share your interests right across the world.
Or... There are far greater threats to civilisation - global warming, artificial intelligence and the aggression of countries like Russia and China. Social media is the least of our problems.
Oprah Winfrey - An American talk show host and media personality.
Meta - The new name of the company which owns Facebook and Instagram.
Elon Musk - A South African-born entrepreneur whose companies have included the online payment service PayPal. He now controls Twitter, renamed 'X'.
TweetDeck - A tool that allows you to post from multiple Twitter accounts.
Authoritarian - Enforcing strict obedience to authority.
Incivility - Rude behaviour.
Tech billionaires launch ‘ultimate battle’

Glossary
Oprah Winfrey - An American talk show host and media personality.
Meta - The new name of the company which owns Facebook and Instagram.
Elon Musk - A South African-born entrepreneur whose companies have included the online payment service PayPal. He now controls Twitter, renamed 'X'.
TweetDeck - A tool that allows you to post from multiple Twitter accounts.
Authoritarian - Enforcing strict obedience to authority.
Incivility - Rude behaviour.