On Wednesday night, I was surprised to see that I was invited to download the app Threads. Threads is the new social media platform from Meta made to rival Twitter. I quickly went to download the app because I knew it would be a moment in social media history. It’s been a week since then, so I thought I’d review Threads and share my thoughts.

Why Threads Was Made

Threads came at a very auspicious time when Twitter was facing a crisis. The weekend prior, the denizens of Twitter were in an uproar due to Elon Musk’s new policy of limiting the amount of posts a person can view. Musk claimed the limit was due to the “extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation.” However, more tech savy individuals speculated the limit was Musk’s way of cutting down costs. Either way, the new policy faced scrutiny. Predictions of Twitter’s inevitable death increased, and everyone was looking for an alternative.

Enter, Threads. Whether intentional or not, Threads quickly announced itself during this time of social media outcry. The result? Many began creating an account and checking out the new social media platform.

How it Works

Interestingly, Threads is supposed to be an extension of Instagram. When you open the app, you are prompted to link it with your Instagram account. From there, you can choose to import your profile information and follow list. The start up is very simple if you already have an Instagram account.

Once you’re done with the set-up, then comes the home page. At the moment, the home page is an endless scroll of Threads from random people you don’t know. However, there is a way to limit what you see to only the people you follow. This can be done through the notification settings in the app.

Threads: The Good

So far. I’d say Threads is very promising. The app works very similarly to Twitter. Instead of Tweets, you have Threads. It’s still possible to repost other people’s threads, like them, or quote thread them. During its first few days, being on Thread was fun because as a collective we were all experiencing this new platform together. There were no cliques or different spaces yet. It was very random, but also stirred some sense of togetherness. Everyone was figuring out what Threads would be for, meme posting or business as usual. There was magic in those first three days.

Threads: The Bad

However, the downside of the app is the fact that it’s still being developed in a sense. There are no hashtags, which means it’s not possible to search terms or topics. Instead, if you want to see new people then your best bet is to leave the option of seeing random people’s threads on. This isn’t the best because it makes it harder for anyone wanting to curate their home page to their specific interests and communities. The developers of the app have stated that they are continuing to add features and build up the app, so it’s expected that we will be able to filter out what we want to see on the app.

The Future of Twitter, Thread & How We Want to Build Community

It seems like there is always a panic every few weeks about the death of Twitter. Yet, it has not happened. However, there is still a very real panic centered around how we build and find community in a potential post-Twitter world.

While Threads is seemingly a viable alternative, there are obstacles. The first being Elon Musk’s new mission to bring it down through lawsuits. He claims that Meta created a copycat app of Twitter and poached former Twitter employees to do so. It’s unclear how solid this argument is since many see this as a desperate attempt from Musk to stamp out his competitor.

The very real complaint of Threads may be found in the uncomfortableness of giving more power to Mark Zuckerberg and Meta. It was not long ago when we were discussing all the ways in which Facebook has abused the way it collects our data and allows misinformation to spread like wildfire on the platform. The fact that there would be a new app for the corporation to replicate this harm has not gone unnoticed by users.

So then, this begs the question, what do we do?

If Twitter is nearing its inevitable death, then were do its millions of users go to find that same sense of community? Threads is appealing due to its popularity at the moment and its ease of use. There are other smaller apps that are designing themselves to be potential alternatives, but they are still in their infancy or only accept users who have an invitation to join. While these limits can be helpful in preventing spam, it leaves out a lot of users who are seeking community and may not be lucky to receive an invitation. So again, thousands, if not millions, of users are left in the dust.

Our need for community leads us to begrudgingly accept the transgressions done by corporations like Meta. From where I stand, I believe Threads is the best alternative to Twitter at the moment. If the bird app was to die tomorrow, I can see everyone flocking to Threads. The expansion of Meta is concerning. Yet, this should not stop us from wanting the company to do better in protecting its users and minimizing the social harm it perpetrates. It is difficult to remain ethical in an unethical consumer market, but that does not mean we shouldn’t demand more. In addition, I do believe that we should continue to look for another option and keep an open mind to the new apps being developed.

Ultimately, Threads is cause for both excitement and concern. It allows us to keep the same method of community without feeling a huge sense of loss. It’ll be interesting to see how the app develops alongside Twitter’s slow demise.

Have you used Threads yet? What do you think? Sound off below!

Sources/Further reading:

Here’s, Variety’s coverage of Elon Musk’s new policy.
And here’s an article stating the cease and desist letter Elon Musk sent Meta.