Due to its stringent content policies, Meta’s recently launched Twitter clone Threads has considerable challenges in becoming a genuine substitute for Twitter. Although the app received an astonishing 30 million downloads on the first day of its introduction, its ability to challenge Twitter’s enormous user base is still limited.
Threads has a key advantage over other text-based social platforms by effortlessly integrating with Instagram, as opposed to earlier text-based social platforms that at first sparked excitement before fading into obscurity. Users can quickly switch from Instagram to Threads without having to start over because the software lets them seamlessly follow the profiles they already follow. Additionally, Threads’ user interface is very similar to Twitter’s, so users won’t need to become familiar with any brand-new features.
Threads doesn’t require invite codes or waitlists, unlike other text-based alternatives to Twitter like Bluesky and Spill, and it accepts anyone with an Instagram account. In light of Twitter’s ongoing issues, this accessibility distinguishes Threads and positions it as a possible alternative.
Threads: Where blandness thrives and Twitter’s spark fades
Unfortunately, despite adhering to Instagram’s strict community norms, Threads struggles to generate interest and engagement. Nudity is forbidden on Instagram, including graphic images, videos, and other digital assets that show bare buttocks or engage in sexual activity. There are, however, exclusions for specific circumstances, including nursing, gender-affirming surgery, and political protests. Instagram’s reputation has been damaged by inconsistent enforcement of these rules and excessive censorship of particular groups, such as Black women, plus-size people, trans and nonbinary people, and sex workers.
Threads is doomed to become a boring platform that serves marketers well but falls short of fostering the active and varied posting culture that gave Twitter its distinctive identity. Casual, uncensored sharing that ranged from humorous and ridiculous content to stimulating discussions helped to define the culture of Twitter. Another Twitter competitor, Bluesky, was praised for embracing this vibrant posting culture. Such expressions are however constrained by Instagram’s arbitrary constraints, which eventually prevent Threads from successfully taking the place of Twitter.
Additionally, Threads prevent Twitter from being attractive in its purest form. It stifles the vibrant community that flourishes on Twitter, where users are allowed to express themselves freely and with a certain amount of anonymity. On Twitter, anonymity promotes sincere connections, community development, and the creation of focused groups. The same culture of unrestrained sharing cannot thrive on Instagram due to Threads, which is connected with users’ real lives.
Threads vs. Twitter: The clash of guidelines and culture
Another key disadvantage of Threads is the absence of anonymity. While anonymity can encourage harmful activity, it also makes it easier for real communities to emerge, especially among LGBTQ people, sex workers, activists, and other oppressed groups that seek refuge in Twitter’s relative anonymity. Users would need some degree of isolation from their real-life contacts, which the app falls short of providing, to move this vibrant posting culture to Threads.
The related Instagram account must currently also be deleted to delete a Threads account, which restricts users’ options. Using a “finsta” (fake Instagram account), it is feasible to create a different account; however, switching between multiple accounts is not currently supported. For the majority of users, it’s essential to be able to retain distinct online personas across numerous platforms because they each have different functions and target niche audiences.
Though some Twitter features might migrate to Threads, our interactions and the communities that form are heavily influenced by the online environments we inhabit. Unfortunately, Threads won’t be able to draw the active and varied user base that Twitter now has due to its rigorous content policies. In the end, Threads might find it difficult to fully articulate what makes Twitter so appealing, especially to those who value its freedom of expression and lack of restrictions.
Read more:
- How to install Threads in EU on iOS and Android
- How to use Threads: A comprehensive guide to Instagram’s new app
- Twitter Vs Threads: How is Threads different than Twitter?
Featured image credit: pcmag
https://twitter.com/mujhemaardo/status/1676750106173767681