The internet is a vast universe filled with platforms that connect people from all over the world. Social media happens to be one of them and is the most influential. With millions of users daily, Twitter is a known hotspot for many including students and staff at Air Academy High School. Recently, its new owner Elon Musk has incited drastic changes pertaining to the app. 

Who is Musk? Well, he happens to be a prosperous businessman that grew up in South Africa alongside his parents and two siblings. Musk’s love for technology was developed at a young age once he became interested in video games and computing. Many students like senior Jason Puleri are more familiar with his fame rather than his background.

“Elon Musk remaining a constant and generally relevant figure within our world stands as a testament to the particular American love for the ‘rags to riches’ story that, similar to Musk, is somewhat misleading,” Puleri stated

The record of his attribution in a vast number of companies dates back to 1995 when he had been one of the founders of Zip2. However, Musk’s most notable business venture, Tesla, has been the main reason behind his growth in fame. His leadership within Tesla has brought on great accomplishments such as designing, engineering, and manufacturing not only vehicles but products like solar energy as while.

His new acquisition of Twitter and plans have Kadets thinking about him.

Long work days and intense deadlines perfectly describe an average day for workers at Twitter recently. Musk himself has expressed to the world that half of the workers will be laid off. This is fairly concerning for students like Puleri who possess the hope of becoming a programmer. 

“This event creates uncertainty for current and future employees as well as users of Twitter. Elon Musk’s somewhat unrivaled power over this widely used platform displays his disregard for those who potentially do not align with Musk or his ideals,” Puleri suggested. 

Musk has only been in charge since October 27, 2022. So, these sudden acts have caused controversy within the Twitter workplace and even among users. A variety of plans for the app includes adjusting content rules, a subscription, and promoting more relevant yet regulated advertisements.

The monthly subscription plan, Twitter Blue, has caused a mixed reaction and even additional problems. What’s the purpose? All for $7.99, its purpose is to allow people to have a checkmark next to their name, access to features in beta, and special abilities like viewing others’ bookmarks.

“I think introducing a subscription to solely verify an account is somewhat ineffectual for Twitter itself and its users. Many users do not plan on subscribing to this new service as it does not provide a substantial amount of benefits and it may be viewed as a “money grab” only,” Puleri explained. 

As of November 12, the program has been disabled for the public. This was due to the plethora of parody accounts that had taken advantage of the chance to be verified.

Although the future of Twitter is unknown, Musk’s reputation from his career allows for hope. It’s important to ponder upon the factors within the chaos whether it be the extreme working conditions or poorly executed ideas. This turn of events causes Kadets like Puleri to witness the situation as a whole for their own learning experience.