Social media users have expressed their frustration with X, formerly known as Twitter, as owner Elon Musk unveiled significant changes to the blocking feature.
A notification doled out to social media users reads: “Block is changing soon. If your posts are set to public, accounts you have blocked will be able to view them, but they will not be able to engage.” It then directs users seeking more control over their profiles to select the ‘protect’ option to edit settings.
In the past, blocking users meant they wouldn’t be able to see any posts from the person who blocked them and therefore wouldn’t be able to engage with them, either. The action has caused quite the stir online, with many X users lamenting their distaste with the feature.
One person asked: “What is the actual reason for this change? The block feature is basically uniform across all of social media. Why change it? How does this make anything better on Twitter? Genuinely cannot figure out the logic behind this”.
Another penned: “Wait, let me get this straight. You made Likes private, so no one can see who likes a tweet… but you think people who are blocked should still be able to see the tweets of the person who blocked them? How does that make any sense at all?”
Someone replied directly to this tweet and said: “You just nailed it. I said to someone yesterday that this move is purely antagonistic.” A third commented: “Chaos. The point of it is chaos.”
But someone else disagreed and said: “… but you think people who are blocked should still be able to see the tweets of the person who blocked them? Yes because when I block someone that’s because I don’t want to see their posts on my feed, I don’t care if they see my posts or not, that’s their choice to make.”
And another said: “Because the blocked person can’t send you. You don’t get to limit their ability to hear or see your non-sense. You can’t limit them from seeing what they would see in the public square.”
The majority of people were unimpressed with the changes being made to the block feature. One person said: “Such a stupid thing. The purpose of blocking someone is for them not to see anything you post. Imagine a stalker still being able to see your posts. Who is making these decisions at @X”.
While another X user shared an image of a gate in the middle of a footpath, with no fencing or walls to make it all usable and deadpanned: “The new Twitter block function.”
One person offered a different take: “It’s extremely easy to create another account and see your content. Blocking for better or worse doesn’t not provide what you said even before Elon bought twitter.”
Twitter was founded in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams as Twitter, but after it was acquired by Elon Musk in 2022, it was rebranded in July 2023 as ‘X’.
It’s very similar to the original Twitter, except it includes additional features like audio-video calls, long-form texts and more. It also allows premium members to become verified and have the famous blue tick next to their usernames.
Previously, this feature was only reserved for public figures, brands, entertainers and other “authentic, notable, and active” accounts. Twitter would also allow government figures or entities, companies, journalists, news organisations, celebrities, athletes, activists, content creators and other VIPs to achieve verification status, but this is no longer the case.
Elon Musk’s controversial reign as owner of the platform is part of apparent plans for Twitter to become somewhat of a “digital town square”, where users can get all their information directly from world leaders and politicians without the need for traditional media as a source.
