If you’re a Twitter user, you’re aware Elon Musk is the new owner of the company. Twitter is a site with 396.5 million users, and there are so many mixed feelings about this controversy. Many say it’s the end of the site or that they are going to migrate to other social media platforms.
This being said, what does Twitter’s future look like?

Who is Elon Musk/The Agreement:
Elon Musk is one of the richest people in the world. He is the founder, CEO, and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of the Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; president of the Musk Foundation; and owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.
Musk bought Twitter on October 27, 2022, for $43 million. He first proposed the offer on April 14, 2022, and Twitter accepted the offer on April 25th. One reason for buying the account was for him to add features like an open-sourced algorithm, delete spam accounts and allow free speech. Musk planned to terminate the agreement in July due to Twitter breaching their agreement by refusing to let him crack down on spambots. Twitter filed a lawsuit against him and planned to sue, causing him to accept the offer on Oct. 27th.

What’s happening to the company and platform?
The Company:
Since Musk’s arrival, 3,700 people have been laid off from Twitter. Which is about half of its previous workforce. He is currently adding new work policies forcing people to work full-time and they can no longer work from home. It’s reported that Twitter has experienced a loss of revenue due to activist groups pressuring advertisers to leave the site.
The Platform:
Twitter Blue is a new subscription where someone can pay $8 for a verification mark next to their name. This has been a very controversial topic.
“I thought it was strange that people could buy a verification check, and you can’t see who is who.” expressed Nicholas Emmanuele, MIHS English teacher, Twitter User
Many accounts have been buying the verification check pretending to be companies saying random things to make it seem that the company itself said it. This is called Parody, which Musk has been cracking down on.
“As someone who only engages in social media, I feel Musk’s banning of people who parodied him has been childish.” said Nicholas Emmanuele
Even though his actions have been a bit immature, we can see Twitter is cracking down on unverified, unlabeled parody accounts. Musk calls himself a “free speech absolutist” which raises a few red flags, he is also giving more freedom in what people can say on the site.
“Some of the systems in place that keep people in check, prevent hate speech, review racist and transphobic reports, or aggressive behaviors have been let go. So, certain groups are now being targeted higher than before.” said Nicholas Emmanuele
There is this new demographic of people joining the app including people who are going to target minorities and be hateful towards each other.
“I believe the use of the n-word has gone up 500%,” said Nicholas Emmanuele
That’s true, it has. When white people use the n-word it’s very offensive, and with this new freedom of theirs, they have been using it more.

Migrating to other platforms:
A lot of people have been saying they’re switching to other platforms like going back to Tumblr or Linkedin. Some deleted their account and others are staying.
“There are plenty of people who just check sports, news, or gaming. And a majority of its users will probably stay… I can foresee it changing and I can foresee it staying.” said Nicholas Emmanuele
Emmanuele speculates that the platform shutting down will most likely be due to bankruptcy rather than the app dying.
It is speculated that a million people have left the platform since Musk took over in October. Around 875,000 people have deactivated their accounts and another half million have been booted. It seems that Twitter is staying; as it still has well over 400 million active users and 200 million daily users.

Conclusion:
Your average user will probably be unaffected. The biggest issue would be content moderation decreasing. Try your best to avoid toxic environments and hate groups on the site.
Bankruptcy is possible for Twitter’s future, but no one can really tell right now. Is chaos right now, so it’s future is unpredictable. Rumors of the site shutting down are going around. As of right now it’s staying, but that can always change.