Twitter is dead. X is here. The all-in-one platform that X CEO Elon Musk envisions as a rival to others, like WhatsApp, is constantly introducing well-thought-out, strategic changes.
Scratch that. The changes to X are actually just a grab bag of whatever Musk is thinking about at any particular moment, such as his latest decision, the removal of headlines from the platform.
Now instead of seeing the banner picture and the headline, users will see just the picture. Many are lamenting this change or finding workarounds, like this publication. It’s a vexing decision because one of the things that drove Twitter was journalists using it to share their work.
Nevertheless, the detractors are missing the true benefit this latest mercurial move provides. No longer can people form a visceral reaction, or even comment, on just the headline.
Commenting Before Clicking
Whether you are a writer or someone merely using X to share things you find interesting, we’ve all had the experience. We hit send and sometime later start getting the disjointed replies, which make it obvious that our interlocutors have not read the article under discussion but instead only the headline.
This isn’t a problem that’s isolated to X. It pervades all social media platforms. Yackler Magazine published an article in 2016 with the title, “Scientists say giant asteroid could hit earth next week, causing mass devastation.” The opening paragraph stuck with the gag for only two and a half sentences before revealing the truth.
“Scientists have discovered a
