While X is not one of the largest social networks in the U.S., it's still the one to beat within the smaller market of social apps that focus on short, real-time text posts that appear in a vertical feed. This space has seen increased competition since Elon Musk bought Twitter and rebranded it as X in October 2022, as Musk's changes to the platform's content moderation policies and the site's rightward political shift sent some users looking for alternatives. In addition to the growth seen by decentralized, open source networks like Mastodon and Bluesky, other startups launched would-be Twitter rivals like Spill, Post, T2 (Pebble), and Hive. Many of these have since shut down, however. Despite this competition, X hasn't seen much of a slip in usage over the years, according to the report. For instance, Pew's report on U.S. adults' social media use published at the beginning of last year found that X was then used by 22% of U.S. adults. Its 2021 report showed Twitter (before its...
learn more
