Twitter is now attention roulette and ultimately meaningless

Nature of Twitter’s Attention Economy

• Many see Twitter as “attention roulette”: outcomes feel random, driven by engagement metrics, not meaning.
• Some argue this is not new; all ad-driven social media optimizes for engagement, not knowledge.
• Others say the post‑Elon algorithm made things noticeably worse and more chaotic.

Algorithmic Feeds vs Chronological Following

• Confusion over whether followers actually see followed accounts.
• Some insist the “Following” tab is chronological and works fine.
• Others report missed posts and apparent filtering even there, plus the app frequently defaults back to algorithmic “For You,” which is perceived as manipulative.
• Rationale offered: limited feed space and commercial incentives push platforms to hide low‑engagement posts, even from followers.

Content Quality and User Experience

• Complaints: rage bait, political propaganda, self‑improvement spam, get‑rich schemes, recycled memes, and low‑effort “engagement questions.”
• A few users still see strong value for niche content (e.g., AI, politics in censored countries, real‑time events).
• Some think the author’s own content might simply not be compelling and that view counts may have exposed that.

Alternatives and Trade‑offs

• Mastodon praised for no algorithm and chronological feeds; critics say this limits follow counts and discovery.
• Others see that limit as a feature forcing curation and deeper relationships.
• Blogs, RSS, newsletters, and email are viewed as healthier, slower‑growth ecosystems.
• Threads and other big‑tech clones are often seen as even more outrage‑driven.

Coping Strategies and Tools

• Heavy use of blocking to clean feeds, sometimes at massive scale.
• Browser/user‑script extensions to hide “For You,” recommendations, ads, and other engagement bait.
• Some treat the “Following” tab drying up as a welcome stopping cue, not a problem.

News, Politics, and Propaganda

• Twitter still valued for user‑uploaded videos and on‑the‑ground reporting, though some say TikTok now rivals this.
• There’s concern that state and commercial actors game algorithms to inflame internal divisions.
• Broader point: human attention is finite and poorly safeguarded; platforms are optimized to exploit it.