Social Media and Mental Health

Can an $8 Fee Save Twitter and Make It a Better Platform?

Some say yes, some no, and some have no clue. So, how can we find the truth?

Some people on Twitter, including trendy influencers, oppose the new fee that Elon Musk recently introduced to validate accounts. However, some believe it will solve the growing problems of Twitter.

What is the problem with Twitter?

Many sensible people thought that the bird got toxic. So the problem is social toxicity!

Twitter is like a war zone.

Fight between right and left political views. Arguments between vegans, carnivores, and omnivores. Ongoing speculations between fat lovers and sugar addicts. Hatred among various races adds additional fuel to the fire. Even sports lovers hate groups of people supporting different soccer teams.

You get the idea.

Among all the disturbing or harmful content, we see some wisdom pop us every now and then. Some inspiring tweets with beautiful photos appear. But they get lost in toxicity as there are too many bots tweeting toxic content constantly.

Yoel Roth, the head of the Trust and Safety department, said in a tweet, “While we said goodbye to incredibly talented friends and colleagues yesterday, our core moderation capabilities remain in place.”

Elon Musk added, “Again, to be crystal clear, Twitter’s strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged. In fact, we have actually seen hateful speech at times this week decline *below* our prior norms, contrary to what you may read in the press.”

People bring ideas to solve toxicity. For example, some say the platform needs strong governance and to ban all harmful materials. Twitter is already suspending millions of bot and spam accounts daily.

But reaching a consensus on the definition of harmful content is also a complex task due to different opinions about acceptable and unacceptable content.

For example, while porn looks like harmful content for some people, others desire to get it free on these platforms and contribute to it to express themselves freely.

I heard that there were many porn accounts on Twitter restricted to specific age groups who can activate sensitive content. However I did not want to check it as I have no interest in the topic. I respect the choice of other people. Fortunately, I did not see any porn tweets in my feed so far.

So people recommend absolute freedom, saying anyone should be able to tweet anything they want as it is the freedom of speech.

But it does not look feasible with our current capabilities as we know that content including hate speech, defamation, discrimination, bullying, or child abuse is immoral and can destroy society.

Some old-fashioned people say just shut it down, as no one will die if they don’t use Twitter.

However, others think that shutting down will not solve the problem as new platforms will pop up and can be even more toxic.

During these fiery discussions, Elon Musk keeps tweeting daily by highlighting the value of $8 and encouraging users to pay this fee monthly.

He believes that paid membership will solve the problem. I even read an article that he might bring the Vine back. I am not sure how six-second videos might inform us.

So far, using Twitter and reading the tweets of Mr. Musk, users haven’t seen compelling points to justify the payment of $8 yet.

What value does Twitter bring to members currently?

And what value will we get after paying the $8 monthly fee?

There is no clear answer to these two fundamental questions. So my point is we need to understand the value of paying an $8 monthly fee.

It might be invaluable for large organizations trying to reach out to a broader audience under $10. No reasonable marketing campaign can be cheaper than this, considering the size of the audience and global reach of Twitter passing across national borders.

But for an average reader who uses Twitter for information, is it worth the cost for the average reader?

What type of information can a reader not find on Google, YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms that Twitter offers?

Does Twitter offer a particular type of information that other free platforms cannot?

For example, we don’t have to pay to search Google, watch YouTube videos, read LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, or Quora posts, or enjoy visual content on Pinterest.

Internet users of writing platforms such as NewsBreak and Vocal can read limitless articles. Free members of Medium can read two stories daily, and paid members can read limitless stories from a pool of millions of stories contributed by thousands of creators.

Some of the content on these writing platforms are posted by world-class creators who are experts in their fields. Even some celebrities, like authors of best-selling books, share their content for free.

I personally have no issue paying $5 to Medium monthly to read limitless content without ads. I even recommend it to people in my circles, as the value is undeniable.

But I have not been convinced $8 monthly fee for Twitter yet. If Twitter offers such value, I will be happy to pay the price.

Who tweets more often on Twitter?

Here are three examples of the types of tweets I see when I log on to Twitter.

The most common tweet is from commercial organizations selling their products. They automate the tweets, and every second, a tweet about a product from multiple angles tries to attract the attention of tweeter users to buy them or influence them.

Do we want to pay for this type of content? Some people might. It does not look like a value to me. Facebook and Google ads seem to do this job better.

Some people use Twitter as a daily journal. They start with what they eat in their breakfast, the purchases they make, the problems they face, and every minor detail until they go to sleep. Then the next day, they even add their dreams during sleep time.

Do we have to pay for this sort of content? Some people might. But does it really bring value to the subscribers?

Another common type of tweet is fights between political parties, religions, races, sports groups, different diets, and other lifestyle choices.

Do we have to pay for this sort of content? This one is a big no for me.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to add additional toxicity to my mind. Our mental health matters. Social media can be as addictive as drugs affecting the same brain region.

I recently shared my thoughts about the progress on Twitter in an article. Therefore, I won’t repeat them. Interested readers may check this post titled Elon Musk Fired 3 Top Executives, Aiming to Make Twitter a Free-Speech Platform.

To conclude my post, I have a few questions for my readers.

What is your opinion about the proposed $8 subscription fee to enjoy Twitter service?

Do you think it will make Twitter a better platform?

Do you think it might reduce the toxic content and increase valuable content?

If you see the value, will you be prepared to pay $8?

I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comment section of this post. Learning from the perspectives and experiences of each other can be valuable.

The key takeaway of this story is to understand the value proposition of services before we pay for them and invest our time.

Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.

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