Pew Research Center surveyed X users to understand how people experience the platform and why they continue to use it. According to the findings, having fun is the main priority.
Eight-in-ten (81%) users say this is a reason they're on it, including 45% who say it's a major reason.
However, two-in-three (65%) use it to get news, and a similar share (62%) tune in to connect with others who share their interests.
Other reasons why people use X include keeping up with sports or pop culture (59%), staying up to date with politics or political issues (59%), as well as staying connected with their family and friends (33%) and looking at product reviews or recommendations (29%).
While the vast majority of X users (74%) come across at least some political content as they browse the site, just 14% of X users say they share any political content themselves.
Among X users who post, but never about politics:
- 51% say it's because posting there won't make a difference, including 29% who say that's a major reason they don't post about politics.
- Similarly, roughly four-in-ten each say a reason is avoiding criticism or harassment (42%) or not caring about politics (41%).
- About a third (36%) of those who don't post about politics cite politics not belonging there as a reason.
Overall, more X users say the platform is mostly good for democracy (38%) than say it is mostly bad (27%). Another 34% say it has no impact.
The share saying it's good has ticked up since 2023, but it's worth noting that this particular survey was conducted before the last U.S. presidential election.
There's a reason why we relate to people so well (or so badly!) through humor.
Phil Stark, LMFT, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who sees clients in person in Los Angeles and all over California and Florida via telehealth.
In a previous career, Stark spent many years as a screenwriter and producer, with credits including South Park, That ‘70s Show, and Dude, Where’s My Car?.
"It's never just a joke. Okay, fine, sometimes it is just a joke. But there is always a nugget of truth inside the joke. It's like how we give dogs pills by putting them inside a scoop of peanut butter. The pills are the truth, and the peanut butter is the humor that makes it go down easier," he writes.
Stark says that when he was writing comedy for film and television, his job was to understand the personalities of the characters, the type of family life they experienced during childhood that molded them into the people they became, and all the factors of their personalities that influenced their points of view and how they expressed them. From there, he would write jokes from that perspective.
It was through a strong understanding of a character's psychological makeup that he discovered the jokes, and it's precisely what he believes makes a great joke — it's funny, but it also reflects a person's point of view.
And isn't that exactly what we see in so many of these tweets? The funniest observations often work because they don't just describe a situation; they reveal the way someone sees the world.
