Written by Lauren Geall
As Stylist’s digital writer, Lauren Geall writes on topics including mental health, wellbeing and women’s issues. She’s also a big fan of houseplants and likes to dabble in film and TV from time-to-time. You can find her on Twitter at @laurenjanegeall.
From an explainer on the cost of living crisis to a deep dive into a young boy’s love for woodwork, Twitter is jam-packed with viral threads. But what makes it such a winning format? And what can its popularity tell us about how we use social media in 2022? Stylist investigates.
When I’m feeling sentimental, one of my favourite things to do is read through some of my first tweets. From Taylor Swift lyrics and back-and-forths with friends to a collection of #LateNightThoughts and obvious subtweets, I didn’t exactly hold back from revealing everything that came across my mind in 2013 – and as such, those old tweets provide a unique glimpse into the inner workings of teenage Lauren.
But despite how funny it is to reread those older tweets now, what sticks out to me isn’t always the content. Instead, I’m more interested in something I never would’ve thought of at the time: their length.
When I first joined Twitter back in 2013, it was known for its short-form content. Facebook was the place you went when you wanted to share news, communicate with family or upload photos. Twitter, on the other hand, was somewhere you shared random thoughts and opinions with strangers. Some of my personal favourites from the Lauren archives include ‘excited for Saturday!’ (a shocking absence of specifics here) and ‘life’ (still relatable).
The restrictions of the app reflected this, too. When Twitter was first founded in 2006, tweets were limited to 140 characters; it was only 11 years later, in 2017, that the limit was doubled, allowing users to upload tweets of up to 280 characters in length.
But the way people use social media has changed drastically over the past 10 years. Long gone are the days when social media was just a place to ‘poke’ friends and upload pictures – now it’s a source of entertainment, work opportunities and potential first dates. In particular, we’ve become more accommodating of long-form content, resulting in an explosion in novel-length captions on Instagram and extensive discussions on Reddit. Most prominently, Twitter’s ‘thread’ format – in which a series of 280-character tweets are lined up one after the other – has become an increasingly popular way to explain complex issues, start conversations or tell stories.
Over the last two months alone, the format has been used to share tips on how to make Google Chrome run faster to an extensive recap of Riverdale’s storyline. According to data from Twitter, there have been more than 1.8 million tweets containing the thread emoji in the UK over the last year – and there’s been a 16% increase in the number of tweets that include the emoji or use the word ‘thread’.
But what is it about the Twitter thread that’s proving so valuable? Is it just a way for us to feel connected to others socially, intellectually and emotionally, or is it a sign of how our relationship with the internet is changing?
Noel Wolf, a language expert and teacher for language learning platform Babbel, believes the Twitter thread’s increased popularity is a result of the way we used social media in lockdown.
“The pandemic warped the way we communicate faster than anything we’ve previously experienced, and the digital world quickly became our crutch,” she tells Stylist. “When we couldn’t socialise or connect with others, longer-form content filled the sudden gap where the in-person connection would’ve previously existed.
“While it might seem like a tenuous connection, long-form social communication fostered real connections on Twitter and wider social platforms like Reddit, and enabled people to gain a sense of a community during a difficult time. Fandoms related to TV shows and sports soared in popularity, as did digital communities fostered by influencers and everyday people alike. This rapidly legitimised online communication as a pillar of genuine connection, and normalised the concept of communicating with strangers (not just friends) on the internet.”
The link between the increased popularity of Twitter threads and the pandemic makes sense when you consider just how much information we were bombarded with during lockdown. From confusing rules and restrictions to frequent reports about changes in key symptoms, the world felt like an overwhelming place to be. Perhaps, then, explainers gave us a sense of calm – a way to cut through the chaos and gain a sense of understanding without having to trawl through the internet at large.
Matilda Ruck is a behavioural analyst at the consumer insights organisation, Canvas8. In a similar way, she believes our increasing love of threads comes from a place of fatigue in the often thoughtless nature of short-form content – a desire for substance in a world of hot takes and opinions.
“The rise in popularity of the Twitter thread speaks to the general fatigue with traditional short-form styles of online communication, where people can increasingly feel like they’re shouting snippets into the ether,” she explains. “With no limits on word count, Twitter threads allow people to dig deeper into topics (and often disagree) with others outside of their individual echo chambers.”
That’s not to say short-form content is dead, however. There’s a reason why TikTok has grown so popular over the last couple of years – at a time when our attention spans seem to be getting worse, there’s a need for quick, easy content that we can consume while we’re waiting for a bus or scrolling before bed. Perhaps, then, the appeal of Twitter threads lies in an increased appetite for substance. We may enjoy watching clips of dogs jumping in pools or learning beauty hacks for flawless foundation, but we also want to hear about the intricacies of the cost of living crisis or dive into an 148-tweet story about friendship, betrayal and exotic dancing (if you know, you know). It’s all about balance.
“The best way to notice how communication is changing is by reflecting on the tools we use daily, and within the context of Twitter, the increase in popularity of threads is likely linked to users wanting to explore a greater sense of connection and engagement,” Wolf suggests. “Rather than crowding social media with passive or substance-less statements, threads lend the opportunity for users to tell a real story and forge genuine connections.”
She continues: “Threads also bring a personal touch to digital social spaces that can feel saturated with superficial content, which indicates that authenticity is a priority nowadays.”
When you pay attention to the threads that have proven particularly popular over the last year, what Wolf is saying rings particularly true. From a story about a boy’s love for woodwork to a 16-tweet-long retelling of an account involving a heart attack, secret love and two weddings, many of our favourite threads are deeply personal. And if they’re not, they still tend to have a lot of substance – for example, an explainer from a verified expert, or a conversation starter from one of our favourite celebrities.
Our love of threads speaks of a need for authenticity on social – whether that’s a substance-heavy deep dive or a heart-warming story about human connection. If there’s one thing that links Twitter threads, long, heartfelt Instagram captions and newer apps such as BeReal, where the whole point is to show unfiltered glimpses into your real life, it’s a desire for something genuine. And that’s no bad thing.
Images: Getty
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