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Valenzuela 1
Alexa Valenzuela
Professor Ted Mcnoof
English 102
20 September 2023
A new approach to social media with “X”
A comparison of the new Twitter and possible social media controls aimed at Gen Z users.
Recently, Twitter, now known as “X”, underwent a significant rebranding initiative in an effort
to bolster its image as a helpful social media platform. It takes critical decisions in the platform
etiquette to make a renovation like this, as reporters Ryan Mac and Tiffany Hsu from The New
York Times
write that the company “has taken many steps to overhaul the firm ... changing the
platform’s features ... as well as the rules governing what can and can’t be said on the service”
(Mac and Hsu, 2023). However, the safety of current users is on the line, by rebranding to “X”
the social network could suffer a variety of security threats claims writer Barry Collins of the
Forbes Magazine
(Collins,2023). Given this, we must ask: Is Twitter’s rebranding effort aimed
at eradicating generations Z’s idiosyncrasies of social media and enhancing their experience or
merely to attract more attention and profits for the company?
As part of understanding how Gen Z and “X” are intertwined, we must acknowledge the
behavior, race and ethics of this cohort. As stated by researchers Kim Parker and Ruth Igielnik at
the Pew Research Organization
, Gen Z, also known as the iGeneration or post-Millennials are
those born after 1996 and are by far the most racially and ethnically diverse generation (Parker &
Igielnik, 2020). Having grown up in a technological age surrounded by social media, this
generation has developed its own unique attributes and points of view(ibid). It is no secret that
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the “digital natives” are renowned for their proficiency in the digital realm (ibid). They have
little or no memory of living without smartphones, tablets, or social networking sites (ibid). This
generation of social networking users is technologically savvy as they mostly represent the
college school-going population (PrakashYadav & Rai, 2020). Compared to other generations,
Gen Z’ers who are 14-25 years old are more inclined to use online social networking sites to
communicate and interact with people they know (ibid). Not only that, but 60% of Gen Z users
obtain their news from social media, its influencers, and creators (Ahmed, et al.). Twitter plays a
big role in this as 47% of Twitter users are Gen Z according to analyst Ellyn Briggs (Briggs,
2023). It is appealing to Gen Z because it is free and provides immediate access to breaking news
and relevant discussion threads (ibid).
Additionally, to fully comprehend the reliance on the platform of this generation, we must first
describe its idiosyncrasies. Unfortunately, it would be impossible to confine Gen Z to a single
group due to their inherent ability to transcend labels (Ahmed, et al). Although spiritual, they do
not hold to any particular religious beliefs, their optimism is tempered by their realism, and they
do not adhere to traditional gender roles (ibid). Yet, Twitter users can be grouped to certain ages
and certain traits. According to Twitter, nearly half of the “tweets” that were sent between May
2020-2021 were sent by users of 16 to 24 years of age (Twitter, 2021). In a study conducted by
Pew Research Center
, researchers Setfan Wojcik and Adam Hughes discovered that Twitter
users are younger, more likely to identify as Democrats, better educated, and have higher
incomes than U.S. adults (Wojcik & Hughes,2019). In particular, “nearly two-thirds (63%) of
Twitter users ages 18 to 49 identify as Democrats or lean toward the Democratic Party” (ibid).
As far as gender is concerned, Marketing Charts notes that 54% of male generation of Z’ers are
significantly more likely to use Twitter than the female generation (“Male and Female...”, 2023).
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It is also significant to note that in terms of mental health, Gen Z’ers are more proactive
regarding their well-being than any other generation, but at the same time are feeling the most
depressed (Ahmed, et al). The American Psychological Association
reports that female Gen Zs
are nearly twice as likely as their male peers to describe themselves as being in fair or poor
mental health (American Psychological Association, 2018). In addition to lying awake at night
because of stress (68%), adult Gen Zers also reported eating too much or eating unhealthily
(58%) (ibid). This is where X comes into play, according to Ajibo Sunday writer for the TOJET
,
by using the platform users are able to express themselves freely through short messages
(Sunday,2021). Over half of Gen Zers find social media supportive in their lives (55%), and it is
a crucial part of their lives (ibid). Nearly half of the respondents (45%) feel judged by social
media and almost two-thirds (38%) feel bad about themselves as a result of social media use
(ibid).
As a result, “X’s” design and features have been tailored to meet the needs of this specific
demographic. Consequently, depressive users benefit from the ability to “retweet” and
participate in conversations about sensitive topics, such as mental health (Bogen, et al). Mental
health issues and practices of self-care are usually prioritized by “X’s” algorithms. In this
manner, Gen Z depression users can locate relevant content quickly and easily (ibid). Furthermore, compared to Twitter, the new algorithmic timeline ensures that X users never miss
any important updates from their favorite accounts. The content on X is prioritized based on
relevance and user engagement, which is different from Twitter’s
chronological timeline
discusses analyst Arnesh Koul (Koul, 2023). The new features of the algorithm have been
brought to the attention of the public. According to senior journalist Stefanie Schappert of
Cybernews
, the code-sharing platform GitHub
now hosts two main repositories with parts of
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Valenzuela 4
Twitter’s source code (Schappert, 2023). Schappert reports that the code that stands out is the
“recommendations algorithm”, this code allows the “For You” recommendations to be tailored to
every category of tweet author making it a controlling factor in the use of the use of the platform
(ibid). The exposure of such codes may be risky to the user’s security and privacy. As CNN
reporter Brian Fung states, it is possible for criminals to take advantage of leaks of source code
in order to identify and exploit security vulnerabilities (Fung, 2023). Therefore, it is crucial to determine Gen Z’s level of privacy, trust, and willingness to protect
their information. According to McKinsey Research, about 40% of Gen Z’ers said they opted to
give their information away for a discount code or free service (“Mind the Gap...”, 2020).
Consequently, in terms of digital protection behaviors, Gen Z and millennials are more likely to
pay for better security (ibid). Platform X can successfully gain some profit from the public
availability of this information and will. The company already has, according to Richard Lawler
senior editor of The Verge,
Twitter already offers a “Blue Package” that includes “verified”
checkmarks, reduced ads, and preferential algorithm treatment for subscribers (Lawler,2023).
Lawler writes that subscriptions are still only offered via iOS or the web, but now users may
choose an annual subscription instead of the $8 monthly web price or $11 iOS prices which
passes a 30% Apple fee onto the customer (ibid). According to Statista, as of April 2023, there
were approximately 640 thousand subscribers to X premium (Statista, 2023). The purchase of a
paid subscription may not seem necessary on most platforms, but for X, this may be inexorable.
As indicated by journalist Cheryl Munk from News CNBC
Twitters implemented approach,
subscribers will only have access to text-based multi-factor authentication, which may result in
the compromise of Twitter users’ identities unless they enable an alternative form of two-factor
authentication (Munk, 2023). Therefore, users have become vulnerable and unsafe, so Razman
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states, “Anyone who is losing this protection will have an increased risk of their account being
compromised” (Munk qtd Razman). Additionally, according to Melissa Koenig reporter at The
New York Post
, Elon Musk has casually announced plans to charge a monthly fee for users of X
(Koenig, 2023). According to him, adding a subscription would make creating accounts difficult
for bots as they would have to register each credit card separately(ibid). While Musk did not
specify the amount of money he would charge each user, he said that it would be a "lower-tier
pricing" model than what X charges its premium subscribers each month - which is
approximately $8 (ibid). The company continues to lose money, as Musk announced earlier this
month that Twitter’s ad revenue had declined 60% (ibid). The decline in revenue was attributed
to a spike in hate speech reported by the Anti-Defamation League following the reinstatement of
banned accounts on X (ibid).
And so, with the rebranding of the platform, the consideration of Gen Z is important. It can be
stated that 50% of Gen Z users prefer it when companies refresh their brand’s look and feel,
while 50% prefer it unchanged according to analyst Ellyn Briggs from The Morning Consult
(Briggs, 2022). The problem might be due to the volume of advertising. In a new survey, 56% of
Gen Z users said personalized social media ads sometimes invaded their privacy, depending on
the situation, with 17% of the rest claiming that advertising always constitutes an invasion (ibid).
As a result, it can be presumed that more additions of ads to platforms may divert Gen Z into
using other apps.
Among Gen Z, “X” is particularly popular because it promotes community connections,
promotes activism, and acts as a safe zone for self-expression. Therefore, Gen Z’s use of Twitter
is mainly for Identification. As opposed to other social media platforms that emphasize
individual profiles, X encourages open conversations. It is possible for this generation to relate to
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those accounts that align with their situations and express freely the circumstances they have
faced.
Due to the complexity of this generation, platforms such as X will undoubtedly play a crucial
role in shaping the idiosyncrasies of their behaviors and decisions, but not for the better. Despite
its unprecedented level of connectivity and access to information, X currently uses cultivation
theory techniques to manipulate users’ perceptions through its algorithmic timeline. Gen Z’s
beliefs and attitudes can be influenced by X’s continuous provision of information and opinions.
And by that, users can find themselves in echo chambers by being exposed to content that aligns
with their beliefs. Additionally, X will not be able to ensure that everything the platform does is
for the benefit of Gen Z users until it catches up financially. Thus, it can be deduced that X is not
currently rebranding its name or algorithm for the benefit of Gen Z users.
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Valenzuela 7
Works Cited: Ahmed, K. (2023). A-Gen-Z Report: What business needs to know about the generation changing everything
. Oliver Wyman Forum. https://www.oliverwymanforum.com/content/dam/oliver-wyman/ow-forum/template-scripts/a-
gen-z/pdf/A-Gen-Z-Report.pdf
Briggs, E. (2023, July 13). Gen Z is extremely online
. Morning Consult Pro. https://pro.morningconsult.com/instant-intel/gen-z-social-media-usage
Collins, B. (2023, July 31). The X-rated problem with Twitter’s new name for millions of users
. Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2023/07/24/the-x-rated-problem-with-twitters-new-
name-for-millions-of-users/?sh=45dca25b41ca
Fung, B. (2023, March 27). Twitter says portions of source code leaked online
. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/27/tech/twitter-source-code-leaked/index.html
Gyan PrakashYadav, & Jyotsna Rai. (2020). The Generation Z and their Social Media Usage: A Review and a Research Outline
. Global Journal of Enterprise Information System,
9
(2), 110-116.
https://www.gjeis.com/index.php/GJEIS/article/view/222
Koenig, M. (2023, September 19). Elon Musk says users will soon have to pay for X in effort to stop bots
. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2023/09/19/elon-musk-says-users-will-soon-have-to-pay-for-x/
Koul, A. (2023). X algorithm and key developments since Elon Musk’s takeover
. CSUsocial. https://social.colostate.edu/trends/bye-bye-birdie-hello-x/
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Lachmar, E. M., Wittenborn, A. K., & Bogen, K. W. (2017). #Mydepressionlookslike: Examining public discourse about depression on Twitter
. JMIR Mental Health. https://mental.jmir.org/2017/4/e43/
Lawler, R. (2023, January 18). Now Twitter is selling one year of blue check privileges at a discounted rate of $84
. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/17/23559959/twitter-blue-annual-subscription-discount-offer
Mac, Ryan., & Hsu, Tiffany. (2023, July 24). From Twitter to X: Elon Musk begins erasing an iconic internet brand
. The New York Times.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/24/technology/twitter-x-elon-musk.html
Male and female Gen Zers differ in extent of social platform use
. Marketing Charts. (2023, January 5). https://www.marketingcharts.com/digital/social-media-228174
Mind the gap: Are Gen Zers too trusting with their data online?
McKinsey & Company. (2022). https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2022/09/27/2022-09-27b.html
Munk, C. (2023, February 24). The big security risks behind Meta, Twitter verified identity subscriptions
. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/23/biggest-benefits-risks-in-meta-twitter-verification-
subscriptions.html
Number of X (formerly Twitter) Premium subscribers as of April 2023
. Statista. (2023, September 13).
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1389933/number-of-twitter-blue-subscribers/#:~:text=X
%20Premium%20allows%20users%20to,640%20thousand%20X%20Premium%20subscribers
.
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Parker, K., & Igielnik, R. (2020, May 14). On the cusp of adulthood and facing an uncertain future: What we know about gen Z so far
. Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project.
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-
uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far-2/
Schappert, S. (2023). Twitter source code explained
. Cybernews. https://cybernews.com/news/twitter-source-code-inside/
Stress in America: Generation Z
. American Psychological Association. (2018). https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2018/stress-gen-z.pdf
Sunday, A. A. (2021). Use of Twitter technology in educational learning
. TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1304889.pdf
Twitter. (2021). There’s gen Z. then there’s gen Z on Twitter.
Twitter. https://business.twitter.com/en/blog/gen-z-twitter-trends.html
Wojcik, S., & Hughes, A. (2019, April 24). Sizing up Twitter users
. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/04/24/sizing-up-twitter-users/
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