Onto Bluer Skies

I’ve written before about how social media has reinforced some questionable behaviors. It has never been easier to see than with the mass exodus of users from Twitter/X to Bluesky. While initially funny to watch trolls spiral as they can no longer obtain their sustenance, it’s indicative of a larger and much sadder social issue that we’ll all have to reckon with.

Twitter was, even in his early days, was always a combative place full of one-upmanship and roasts. It was, however, much more light-hearted than whatever it has become now. I joined in April 2009 (one month before Elon Musk - just want to throw that out there) and its shift from a mildly toxic but overall fun platform to a festering septic tank has truly been something to behold.

It’s hard to say what triggered that shift - but I believe it happened around the time of the 2016 Presidential Election in the United States, as did so much. Well thought out posts and nuance rarely gained traction, and instead pithy comments and biting, often personal attacks were rewarded. Reply Guys gained popularity simply by commenting on every one of Donald Trump’s tweets whether positive or negative, and sicced their growing follower base on anyone who disagreed. Soon everyone just wanted to dunk on “the other side.” No fact checking, no nuance, just getting angry and making others angry to boost their own egos.

When Musk took over in 2022, I don’t think any of us anticipated how absolutely disastrous it could be. Paid verified accounts now rewarded anyone who paid $8 USD per month based on interactions. It triggered a deluge of low effort inflammatory content, spam and an increase in the bots Musk once railed against. Misinformation and bigotry spread faster than it could be counteracted.

The 2024 election has been the final nail in the coffin for Twitter/X. Now that Shadow-President-Elect Musk has secured his place in the United States government, the majority of us want nothing to do with a government-controlled social media site. In addition, the site is largely just trolls and hate, feeding off of the fear, pain and anxiety of those who stand to lose the most with the incoming administration. There’s nothing left for those looking to find community and enjoy some goofy posts.

Twitter is dead.

Enter Bluesky.

Many Twitter alternatives have come and floundered, but Bluesky is the only one that seems to have understood the essence of what people enjoyed about Twitter, what they didn’t enjoy, and what could be improved upon. Perhaps that comes from it being originally financed by Jack Dorsey, the original founder/CEO of Twitter. (Dorsey is no longer involved in Bluesky at all, as he got ran off by the developers and userbase over the same “free speech” nonsense that has killed Twitter.) Even after Dorsey’s departure, the Bluesky team understands that users just want to hang out and talk to real people, find and join communities and not deal with people who get a dopamine rush from upsetting others. Its block feature and blocklists are powerful.

This has, of course, triggered those who once insisted that everyone else was a thin-skinned snowflake. They’ve taken to calling Bluesky an “echo chamber,” and are attempting to flood the site with new accounts to find some libs to trigger because they’re not getting their fix elsewhere. The Bluesky team seems to have been prepared for this moment, as their moderation nukes these accounts before they can truly take hold - and hoo boy, are they mad.

Bluesky also has a very loose algorithm. You are given some suggestions, but largely you choose which communities and whose posts you want to see. One cannot gain traction by baiting others into a reaction. It is how social media once was and always should have been. We’ve learned that there’s nothing to gain from engaging with those acting in bad faith. They’re not looking to learn or to have their viewpoints challenged. They’re looking to incite and enrage because that’s the only way they can get anyone to engage with them, online or offline. All they had was the satisfaction of ruining someone else’s day and on Bluesky that power is no longer in their hands.

The panicked reaction of trolls highlights just how prevalent anti-social behaviors have become due to how they’ve been rewarded on Twitter/X and in the world at large. The Mayo Clinic’s list of anti-social symptoms is basically a list of everything an Internet troll entails. Not everyone displaying these behaviors has full-blown Anti-Social Personality Disorder, of course, but the fact of the matter is that they’re rewarded both in fame and profit.

The trolls and bad actors are coming to terms with the fact that the only reason any of their nonsense was able to “trigger” anyone was because Twitter’s algorithm and other trolls. With their targets leaving to build their own communities and to reconnect with old ones, the trolls are left sitting in the wasteland they helped to destroy without any fodder. They’ve come to realize that the only community they have is other trolls, who they’ve bonded with solely over hurting others. Their world is shrinking, and instead of looking inward and reevaluating themselves and their choices, they’ve decided that everyone else is wrong for no longer entertaining their abuse. Their targets continue living their lives without the trolls, but the trolls have placed their entire self-worth, happiness and livelihood on the pain of their targets. They have no real goals, no desire to build anything other than dismay and chaos. By and large, they’ve distanced themselves from anything meaningful or impactful in lieu of quick lulz and that realization has them spiraling.

I could spout the old talking points of “these folks need healing” or “broken people hurt others.” I think it’s simpler - as a society we’ve been actively rewarding cruelty, to the point where if people start ignoring it to focus on positivity, they’re seen as stepping out of line. It’s not thin-skinned to not want to be berated based on your sexuality, identity, race, religion or disabilities. Existing with genuine folks who want to share, grow and build with each other isn’t an echo chamber. Negativity isn’t viable in the long run. It stunts and suffocates under the guise of a quick serotonin boost, preventing any meaningful growth or progression. Depriving cruelty and misinformation of its oxygen and ceasing to entertain its tomfoolery is the only way any of us will flourish.

The trolls will continue to kick and scream as the Bluesky Exodus continues. For the rest of us, life will go on, and the trolls will either cannibalize each other or die out. There should never be any shame in protecting your own peace and casting out bad faith actors who want nothing more than to spread malcontent. Let them holler at the wall - we’ll keep thriving the way we always have.