Looking for a Twitter replacement? Here are 5 suggestions. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

Twitter is rapidly changing nether its caller Elon Musk ownership. Thursday evening, rumors that the societal media level was getting person to crashing prompted users to constitute imaginable goodbyes successful lawsuit things disappeared.

The app is inactive hanging around, but users are scrambling to find alternative methods to communicate. The hashtags #TwitterOFF, #Twittershutdown, and #TwitterMigration are trending crossed the United States and Google searches for alternate platforms, similar Mastadon, are connected the rise.

» READ MORE: Imposter accounts had a heyday past week connected Twitter. How volition Philadelphia accounts respond?

Here’s a database of places to spell — online and in-person — alternatively of Twitter.

Young radical are relying progressively connected visual-led platforms alternatively of Twitter. In fact, Pew research says the bulk of U.S. teens don’t usage Twitter astatine all. Instead, their time connected BeReal, Instagram, and TikTok is growing.

In Philadelphia, locally tally Instagram and TikTok accounts cater to a scope of interests. From nationalist creation accounts similar @phillypublicart to section rapper 2rare, some apps person a small spot of thing for everyone.

It would beryllium astir intolerable to make an expansive list, but present are a fewer Philly accounts to get you started:

On Instagram

On TikTok

Reddit is simply a fashionable web that acts arsenic a connection committee forum. Users tin subscribe and enactment successful subreddits — category-based subgroups. Each subreddit has its ain moderators successful charge. Those moderators enactment arsenic administrators and tin find the rules on with who tin participate and who mightiness get kicked retired of the group. Posts tin beryllium upvoted oregon downvoted (like the caller thumbs-down diagnostic connected Twitter).

Philadelphia’s main subreddit, r/Philadelphia has much than 434,000 subscribers. It’s a spot to stock quality links, speech astir neighborhoods, and inquire for advice. The level has thousands of different subreddits users tin articulation depending connected their interests. For instance, the Eagles fans person their ain subreddit with 237,000 followers. The 76ers, Phillies, Flyers, and Union fans besides person dedicated subreddits.

Discord and Mastodon are platforms based connected abstracted servers that let users to pass with each other. Discord tin beryllium likened to Slack oregon Microsoft Teams. It allows users to speech dependable messages, texts, calls, and files. In contrast, Mastodon is touted arsenic an open-source app that’s similar a “less toxic Twitter.” It benignant of works similar an email account. You prime your server erstwhile you motion up and tin chat and interact with others based connected your interests.

The net tin beryllium a large spot to link with and conscionable caller people. But it tin besides go a dark, toxic sludge fest. A fashionable meme connected Twitter consisted of radical telling each different to “touch grass,” implying they’re spending excessively overmuch clip online. Know Your Meme says the operation became progressively fashionable passim 2021. But you don’t person to instrumentality this 1 literally. Any benignant of clip outdoors tin assistance combat each that bluish light. Amid rumors of Twitter’s demise, users joked astir uncovering bid and happiness without feeling tethered to the app anymore. So possibly just... spell outside?

Phones are forbidden astatine Hop Sing Laundromat, the quirky cash-only Chinatown cocktail bar. There’s nary net and you amended not adjacent deliberation astir taking a selfie. Hop Sing opened successful 2012, and its strict policies gained nationalist attention. House rules see nary phones, nary flip-flops, sandals, oregon shorts. Going to the movies oregon a theatre accumulation volition besides get you person to a no-phone zone.

Swap retired your typing hands for a tactile enactment similar ceramics oregon candle making. Throughout the Philadelphia area, determination are classes offered for performing arts, fitness, arts and crafts, and cooking. With the caller twelvemonth approaching, it could beryllium the cleanable clip to instrumentality up thing caller — possibly glassblowing?

And remember: if you miss tweeting excessively much, you tin ever effort your manus astatine vertebrate watching.