On Sep. 23, it was reported that X, formerly classified as Twitter, was on the verge of “reworking” the block button feature. The newly implemented system would prevent users from communicating online with blocked users, but would not prevent blocked users from seeing their content. This has been a shock for the majority of the internet community, especially while acknowledging that many people including celebrities, influencers and heavy opinionated individuals love to hit that block button over a minor disagreement. They believe that Elon Musk’s idea of removing this feature is extremely unnecessary and could potentially be detrimental to the X community.
While there are several reasons as to why someone wouldn’t want another individual to view their posts, many are concerned about the concept of stealing other posts for online engagement. As well as, constant harassment online such as cyber-bullying, sexual harassment and even getting directly threatened with a multitude of violent and murderous threats are an immense risk factor for women. This could also affect teenagers and adolescents as they are the prime community that has X downloaded, and could potentially be exposed to explicit content.
Additionally, parents also have children to protect. It is reasonable to make an assumption that keeping the block button would be most optimal. Musk has expressed his dissatisfaction with the block feature in the past, advocating for a stronger mute option instead. He has also previously suggested removing the block function entirely, except for direct messages. Having users not being able to engage, but still lurk on any account, is completely unnecessary and makes other users more vulnerable to potential harassment, cyber-bullying, and a multitude of online dangers.
The only beneficial factor, that I can see, of this implementation would be that people could report accounts featuring potential bad content or behavior that they could not view before, in order to enhance the internet safety of other users and prevent them from seeing explicit content. As this feature hasn’t been implemented yet, it is difficult to say whether or not this would prove to be true and effective, and could potentially enact the opposite intention.
All in all, X is classified as a site of gossip, drama, and this generation’s ultimate news source through social media. But this begs the question: is taking away the block button imperative to ensure the community is safe, or does it increase the risk of internet dangers?
