Why X Isn’t a Cesspool
The social media mirror: YOU shape your digital world
AI-generated image of the X logo sinking into a cesspool
For the umpteenth time, someone on a non-Musk-owned platform lobbed the tired accusation that X, the Musk-owned digital town square, has “degenerated into a cesspool.” It’s a predictable claim that I disagree with and shows lazy thinking. The truth about X (and any platform) is far more interesting than the snarky hot take suggests.
X hasn’t “degenerated” into anything. I genuinely believe it’s better than ever—especially regarding free speech. Yes, there are hateful people on X. Trolls, bigots, and keyboard warriors abound. But let’s not kid ourselves: they’ve always been there, even when the platform leaned heavily to the political left and the connected social activism. The difference now? The platform doesn’t play favourites as aggressively. You’re more likely to hear unfiltered takes—some brilliant, some just plain awful—and I think that’s a win for anyone who truly values open discourse over company-instigated echo chambers.
Compare that to Threads, the relatively new kid on the block (launched in 2023 compared to 2006 for Twitter/X). You may choose not to believe this, but Threads also has a rude and obnoxious crowd, and I’ve had the displeasure of bumping into some of them myself. However, with fewer active monthly users than X (according to numerous online sources), it can feel better, at least for now. The smaller scale gives it a temporary sheen of civility. But here’s the thing: your experience on any platform isn’t some universal truth handed down by the app gods.
You generate your own social media bubble.
Take my Threads feed as Exhibit A. I’ve nudged the algorithm into serving me a steady stream of creatives—writers, YouTubers, artists and the like—alongside folks who share my religious beliefs and life values. It’s a cosy digital nook, and I’ve purposefully engineered it that way. X, by contrast, feels “tougher” for me because I’ve built a political bubble, charged with social activism, and unafraid of a good scrap. That’s mychoice. The algorithm’s just doing its job, noting my likes, replies, and comments, then dishing up more of what I’ve shown I want.
This is the uncomfortable truth that many people are unwilling to face.
Our political and social values don’t just colour how we see these platforms; they actively shape them.
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When someone says, “X is awful, but Threads is amazing,” they’re not making an objective statement about the inherent quality of either platform. They’re really just telling you about themselves. They’re revealing what matters to them, their values, and what kind of digital neighbourhood they’ve chosen to build.
It’s easy to point fingers at a social media platform and say, “This place is broken.” But the reality is almost always more complicated. Stating what should be obvious: no social media algorithm is disconnected from its users; it’s guided chiefly by its users (admittedly with potential, slight tweaking in the background by those with the code). Still, the people make the place. Who we choose to follow, what we choose to engage with, and the conversations we decide to participate in all shape the overall experience we end up having.
That’s why two people can log onto the same platform on the same day and come away with entirely different impressions. One person might say, “It’s just constant fighting, doom, and negativity,” while someone else says, “I love it here. I’m inspired every day.”
Neither of them is wrong. They’re just living in the bubbles they built—inadvertently or on purpose.
If anything, the real story of social media in 2025 isn’t about platform wars. It’s not about whether X is better than Threads, whether Facebook is still clinging on, or if Instagram is becoming too much like TikTok. The real story is about how we, as individuals, curate our digital environments.
What we feed grows.
If you spend your time liking every angry political post that comes your way, or indeed commenting with the opposite feeling, don’t be surprised when your timeline turns into a battlefield. If you seek out creators, thinkers, artists, and people sharing uplifting work, you’ll see more of that instead.
We’re not passive spectators here; we’re the architects of our timelines. So perhaps the better question isn’t, “Has X become a cesspool?” Maybe the better question is: What have you built your timeline to become?
And with that, I’ll leave you with a challenge.
The next time you find yourself declaring that a platform is “awful”, “toxic”, or “dead,” take a long, honest look at who you’re following, what you’re liking, and what you’re posting. What part are you playing in the experience you’re having?
Because if we each have a hand in shaping our digital neighbourhoods, maybe it’s time we took more responsibility for the social street we live on.
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