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‘The brain drain intensifies as X’s platform restrictions pose growing challenges for researchers.’
According to a recent survey conducted by Nature, more than half of scientific researchers who use Twitter have reported reducing their usage or leaving the platform altogether. This adds to previous findings by Pew Research, which revealed that a majority of US Twitter users have been spending less time on the platform since Elon Musk’s takeover. The data suggests that Twitter is experiencing a decline in usage among two important user groups.
The survey, which included over 9,200 researchers, found that 47 percent of respondents had decreased their usage of Twitter, while nearly 7 percent had quit the platform entirely. Interestingly, a similar number of researchers stated that they had joined at least one new social network over the past year. The most popular alternative platform among researchers was Mastodon, an open-source platform that has seen significant growth following Musk’s takeover of Twitter. Approximately 47 percent of researchers reported using Mastodon in the past year. LinkedIn and Instagram were the next most popular platforms, attracting 35 and 27 percent of researchers, respectively. Meta’s Threads, despite being launched shortly before the survey, secured the fourth spot.
These findings, along with Pew Research’s earlier data, indicate a decline in Twitter usage among previously active users. It highlights the significant changes that have occurred on the platform over the past year.
Historically, Twitter has played a crucial role for researchers and scientists, serving as a platform for sharing research and facilitating scientific debates. Additionally, Twitter’s researchers have been a reliable source of authoritative information in an environment plagued by misinformation. The platform has also been a valuable data source for researchers across various fields. However, many users now feel overshadowed on a platform that prioritizes content from verified accounts, and the cost of accessing Twitter’s API for research purposes has become prohibitively expensive, limiting its availability to most researchers. As a result, a significant portion of the scientific community feels alienated by Twitter’s tactics.
X, the company that now operates Twitter, did not respond to a request for comment.