Nearly 20 years following the release of the social media app known as X, formerly Twitter, the app is dropping in popularity among students.

X as a platform has seen many shifts since its creation with major shifts over the two years when Elon Musk took over the app as CEO. NBC News reported that in February the platform was down 18% of its daily active users. These shifts could potentially be reflected in how Grand Valley State University student use the app. 

Twitter, or X, as it is now known, was created in March 2006. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s original CEO, posted the first ever “tweet” on the platform that read “just setting up my twttr.” From there, Twitter quickly gained a following.

In July of 2007, Twitter received $100,000 series-A funding, led by Union Square. By 2011, Twitter had become an essential tool in protests around the world. The app was specifically instrumental in the wave of anti-governmental protests in the Arab Spring, which took place throughout Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. In 2016, Twitter had a prominent role in former President Donald Trump’s campaign, with the app quickly becoming his main source of discourse. Twitter was criticized by many because several believed the social media app was giving misinformation a higher platform.

In 2020, misinformation and controversy continued to escalate with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, both Trump’s campaign and Trump’s personal account got banned from Twitter.

In 2022, Musk officially took over Twitter as CEO. He celebrated the news with a tweet stating, “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in.” From there, Musk immediately made numerous changes, firing multiple people. Quickly, the site began having multiple issues, with reports of bot activity increasing, and user moderation plummeting.

Musk then modified the paid user subscription now called X Premium, formerly known as “Twitter Blue” in November 2022. This granted payers multiple benefits, including a larger character limit and the ability to edit their posts after posting. Unfortunately, this subscription allowed for even more misinformation to spread. Accounts that had been previously verified under the previous Twitter system, known as “legacy verified” would no longer be verified unless they paid for premium. 

Then in July 2023, Musk announced the app’s name would be changed from Twitter to X, although many still refer to the app by its former name. 

The platform’s recent and past controversies beg the question if young adults, specifically GVSU students, are still using the platform. 

Jerry Abe, a student at GVSU, uses X roughly every day. He said he primarily uses it for sports and news updates. 

Since Twitter turned into X, Abe said he actually uses it more, though he isn’t sure why. Abe said he enjoyed some design aspects. 

“I like the icon a lot better,” Abe said.

As for the political aspect of X, Abe said he doesn’t go out of his way to search for politics on the often-political social media platform. 

GVSU student Zen Martin said they created their account at the end of 2023. Martin got the app primarily to keep updated on their favorite gaming creators. Martin said they try to avoid politics on X, although they feel there is sometimes no way around it.

“In my personal opinion, I try (to) avoid it. I only use Twitter for one game developer, and other artists,” Martin said.