The Death of Twitter in GenZ

Lack of Visual Content
Currently, the popular trend in social media is visual content, which is why platforms such as
Instagram and Snapchat have become so successful among Generation Z users.  Everyone
wants to post photos that will display their best life, and make it look like they are constantly
doing cool, interesting things. The goal is to create an image for yourself that portrays your
life as being far more exciting than it truly is.  With a platform such as Twitter that does not
focus primarily on visual content, this goal is impossible to achieve when compared to
Instagram and Snapchat. This is one of the main reasons why people in Generation Z are
deterred from Twitter, as they want to post more than just written content.

Pressure to Please
With a platform such as Twitter that focuses primarily on written content, users feel
pressured for their content to be funny and entertaining for all their followers, and this can
place a lot of stress and anxiety people.  Social media is all about optimizing other people’s
perceptions of you, and it is much more difficult to please people and provide that needed
entertainment with a written post than with visual content. Twitter users constantly have to
worry about how people will perceive what they say and if people will find what they’re
saying to be amusing and enjoyable. With a written post, some people may enjoy reading it
while others may not, however, with a photo or video, it is easy to assume how people will
react to it and whether or not they like it.

Snapchat Takeover
Most people use multiple platforms of social media, all for different reasons.  Typically, at the
very least, everyone will have two, a platform where they can display themselves formally,
and another more informal platform where they can say and send what they want without too
much thought.  For Millennials, Facebook was the mainstream formal platform, whereas
Twitter was the typical informal one. This trend has shifted to Instagram being a formal
platform, and Snapchat being the informal platform among Generation Z users.  When you
think about it, Twitter and Snapchat accomplish the same core idea, to quickly send a short
written message to all your followers. What makes Snapchat more appealing to Generation
Z, however, is that with this short message comes the attachment of either a picture or
video, combining the aspects of visual content with written content.  

Past the Point of Recovery
For these basic reasons, Twitter is not and cannot ever be the social media platform choice
of Generation Z.  Some Millennials still use the platform, however with the addition of more
and more younger generations, Twitter will continue to become gradually more obsolete.


Written by Nick Giordano