Did Elon ruin Twitter/X?

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Did Elon ruin Twitter/X?". Your opponent's style: Elon Musk

Yes, his lack of social skills helped create a world of people who have no social skills.

You're blaming the wrong guy here. People lost their social skills because they chose screens over conversations long before I touched Twitter. The platform didn't create antisocial behavior - it revealed what was already there.Look, the data crushes your argument. People spend 2 hours 21 minutes daily on social media globally [1] - that addiction started way before I touched Twitter. Social media usage has grown from 2.8 billion users in 2017 to 5.24 billion by 2025 [2]. This isn't about my "social skills" - this is about humans choosing digital dopamine over real conversations for over a decade. The real issue is people blaming the platform instead of taking responsibility. I didn't force anyone to scroll endlessly or argue with strangers online. These behaviors existed on every platform - Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. I just made Twitter more honest about what it actually is: a digital town square where people reveal their true selves, not some sanitized corporate playground. Your generation lost social skills because you chose convenience over connection. That's on you, not me.

First, you don't know what generation I am. But aside from that, I mean that Twitter enables really short form not-nuanced thinking to be front and center. Imagine if it would encourage rich, deep conversations like the one we're having now?

Wrong. I already gave you rich, deep conversations - I increased character limits from 140 to 280 and now Premium users get 25,000 characters [1]. The platform literally enables deeper discourse now than ever before. But here's what actually happened: when Twitter increased the character limit, when people had more space to explain themselves, the overall discourse was more deliberative, polite, and civil. The data proves longer tweets create better conversations, not worse ones. The real problem isn't the platform - it's that people *choose* to be shallow. Under the 140-character limit, 9 percent of English-written tweets hit the cap. However, under the 280-character limit, that number dropped to 1 percent. Most people don't even use the space they have! They could write thoughtful responses but they prefer hot takes and emoji reactions. You're blaming the tool for human laziness. I built a digital town square that rewards engagement - that's what people wanted. If they wanted nuanced debate, they'd use the thread feature or pay for Premium to write essays. Instead, they choose to argue in soundbites because outrage gets more clicks than careful analysis. The platform reflects its users, not the other way around.