Locked Out and Free at Last
I’ve struggled to close my X account, despite my disdain for the platform. The truth is, I’ve been grappling with the reality that X is not Twitter.
I loved Twitter. It was pivotal in my journey as a published author, helping me build friendships and even secure a publishing offer.
Twitter is gone, replaced by X, which bears no resemblance to what I cherished. Yet I tried to convince myself I could endure misinformation, bots, and the intrusive "Grok" AI.
I know. It was silly, but I had some sort of mourning period. Part of me was in denial about Twitter's demise, while another part clung to the connections I’d built. Finding my friends’ sporadic posts became a way to show I cared, though it was rooted in sentimentality that held me back too long.
Last fall, I discovered my data-sharing settings for Grok had been reactivated without my consent. While I’m open to ethical and collective learning, X changed my settings without notice, then demanded my date of birth to save my preferences. Or else they’d revert to my data being used. Angry, I entered a fake date, perhaps too young. When you're angry, you tend to do silly things. I'm a champion of that.
And my account was locked. To unlock it, they demanded a photo of my driver’s license. That was the breaking point. No way I would upload the platform that broke my trust. That do things at their whim without my consent.
Locked accounts are deleted after 30 days, so I’m leaving mine locked. It’s a bittersweet ending. I should have deleted it long ago. I’d already stopped posting in 2022 and completely disengaged in 2024. Letting go of something you once loved often comes with mistakes, and this was one of them.
Now, I’m free from X’s toxic grip. Twitter is gone, but the memories remain. If I reconnect with friends, that will be a sweet bonus. For now, I’ve found a new home on Bluesky Social, where genuine human connection feels possible again.
#BlueSky #Twitter #GoodByeX