[허영주의 크리에이터 세상]
A platform for easy and light communication
Social media with a human touch

These days, the social media platform where I upload the most posts is Meta's 'Threads'. When I say I use Threads, people respond with 'Who uses that? Why would you use something that doesn't make money?'

It's true. In an era where SNS is about making money, everyone's engaged in personal branding and using SNS to earn a living. From that perspective, using Threads might seem incomprehensible. It's not an app with the same explosive popularity as it had during its initial launch, making it even more so.

Despite that, I find myself drawn to Threads. Why is that? I wondered, and I also asked Threads users directly. Why do they use Threads? What are the differences between Threads and other social media platforms? What's the future of Threads?

My opinion on why I use Threads is because it's 'convenient'. Instagram is too heavy to upload photos, edit them, and post them. It feels like creating a product page, not lightly sharing my everyday life on social media, and it's exhausting.

TikTok requires you to film videos with a certain angle. You have to apply makeup before filming, which takes a lot of time and energy. But Threads is light. You can just post whatever you want.

Especially as an influencer, it's become difficult for me to freely post anything on social media. Threads is a breath of fresh air for me, allowing me to post freely regardless of the number of likes. I get tired of social masks, and sometimes I just want to say whatever I want. Threads is the best platform for that.

Another reason is because of the interactions, communication, between people. On Instagram, there's a lot of personal information and personas, so it's cautious to leave comments. However, on Threads, many people are anonymous, and there are more posts about people sharing their thoughts than those related to personal information, leading to more active commenting.

This week, I posted asking for help with writing a column about Threads, and I received 55 likes and 37 comments. More than half of the people who liked it wrote thoughtful comments. This kind of interaction is hard to find on any other platform. It's a place with strong two-way communication, which is why I use Threads.

What about my 'Thready friends' (meaning friends on Threads)? What are their reasons for using Threads? They answered like this: "I just want to say whatever I want, not focusing on personal branding!" "In a world that feels like a red ocean everywhere, it gives me the hope to start anew." "I can see answers from different perspectives when I post text or videos." "There are stories worth reading, unlike platforms focused on flashy images and videos." "I want to feel lighter. I'm getting a little tired of Instagram's platform where everyone tries to look good." "It's the only SNS without ads yet." "It's still early, so it's not tainted." "It has a human touch."

Summarizing the reasons my Thready friends gave for using Threads, we have 1. Lightness 2. No Ads 3. Diverse Opinions 4. Human Touch 5. Blue Ocean.

What are the differences between Threads and other platforms? If I had to choose the three biggest differences, they would be 1. Informal Language 2. No editing after 5 minutes of posting 3. Freedom.

First, people mostly communicate informally on Threads. Using informal language creates a feeling of friendship, leading to free communication. Also, the inability to edit after 5 minutes prevents excessive censorship. This also adds to the feeling of freedom. Ultimately, the key difference can be summarized as 'freedom.'

Finally, what's the future of Threads? My opinion is that it will become a 'friendlier version of Twitter.' Twitter has a strong color. Twitter is overly anonymous, making it even more blunt, while Threads sits somewhere between anonymity and real names, Instagram and Twitter. It has a more emotional feel. When Reels first came out, I thought it would be just like TikTok, but just like how Reels developed its own unique culture, Threads will become a platform similar to Twitter but will develop its own culture.

What do my Thready friends think about the future of Threads? Among the many replies, the funniest comment was, "Women will show off their bodies, and men will show off their car keys." It was a comment predicting that Threads would become sensationalized to gain followers, just like Instagram. There were also predictions that Threads would become more commercial as more users join.

Another opinion was that Threads would settle well, as it has differences from Instagram. Others predicted that it would fade in about a year. Other opinions included that Threads would survive if it appealed to advertisers, and finally, a heartwarming opinion, "I think more people will become more humane."

The last opinion left a strong impression on me. The real world is already bleak, and social media is becoming increasingly commercial, making it hard to find a human touch.

Instagram is filled with posts 'designed to sell,' rather than the 'stories' of ordinary people. I find it tiring to look at that. I think Meta created Threads to provide a 'new space' where they can retain these exhausted users. Of course, there's also the intention of taking over the struggling X (Twitter).

Threads was only launched 5 months ago. Europe launched Threads 3 weeks ago. It's only just beginning, so it's hard to predict the future, but if you want to experience the pure communication of early social media, come to Threads now. Those who miss the human touch, come to Threads.

※ The author is myself and this is a copy of the article written for the Woman Economy News..