Twitter’s big tweeters aren’t as active as they used to be, and people who regularly use the site have markedly different interests than in years past.
This information would be indicated in internal documents obtained by Reuters.
The documents define a “heavy tweeter” as someone who logs into the site daily and tweets three to four times a week.
Heavy Tweeters are a small but valuable segment of Twitter users, accounting for less than 10% of monthly active users while generating 90% of all tweets and global revenue.
The rapid decline in big tweeter activity began during the pandemic. As we’ll see later in this article, there’s been a significant drop in activity around topics that were once Twitter’s most popular categories.
It’s unclear where the big tweeters are going and why they’re leaving, though we can make some guesses based on recent data.
Big Tweeters Leave, User Interests Shift
While big tweeters leave their accounts inactive, those who stay active gravitate to topics that Twitter isn’t traditionally known for.
Interest in once-popular topics such as news, sports and entertainment is down, Reuters reports. Twitter is also losing many heavy users interested in fashion and celebrities.
Some of Twitter’s most popular topics among English-speaking users now include cryptocurrency and unsafe content for work.
Are big tweeters leaving because user interests change? Or do interests change following the departure of the big tweeters?
This is never specified in the report, although Reuters spoke to a Twitter representative who pointed out that the total number of monthly users was growing.
Twitter is still attracting new users even though its most active ones are taking a step back from the website. In the next section, we’ll see where they might go.
Where do the heavy tweeters go?
In internal documents obtained by Reuters, a Twitter researcher suggests the decline in activity around topics like fashion and celebrities can be attributed to Instagram and TikTok.
Previously, esports and streaming personalities were growing interests among heavy Twitter users. Now, their business is likely shifting to video-friendly websites like Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok.
What about news? Twitter was the de facto platform for following breaking news.
You might be surprised to learn that news activity is also shifting to TikTok.
The Pew Research Center released a study this week showing that a growing share of American adults regularly receive news on TikTok.
The report states:
“In just two years, the share of American adults who say they regularly receive news from TikTok has roughly tripled, from 3% in 2020 to 10% in 2022.”
This timeline matches the reported decline in news activity on Twitter.
While that’s not enough to conclude that avid Twitter users are instead turning to TikTok for information, the data is worth looking at.
According to the study, 26% of American adults say they regularly receive news on TikTok, which is up from previous years.
A third of US adults who use TikTok say they regularly receive information from the site.
In contrast, news consumption either declined or stayed the same on other social media sites.
It will be interesting to see if Twitter does anything in response to the reported drop in activity among big tweeters.
Sources: Reuters, Pew Research Center
Featured Image: Tada Images/Shutterstock
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