---
title: "2. How X users view, experience the platform"
description: "For Americans who use X – about a quarter of adults, as of last year – it’s a place people turn to stay entertained, connect with others and keep up with what’s going on. At the same time, it’s a platform where change has been a constant, including Elon Musk’s rebranding of it from Twitter […]"
date: "2024-06-12"
authors:
  - name: "Colleen McClain"
    job_title: "Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/colleen-mcclain/"
  - name: "Monica Anderson"
    job_title: "Director, Internet and Technology Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/monica-anderson/"
  - name: "Risa Gelles-Watnick"
    job_title: "Former Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/risa-gelles-watnick/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/06/12/how-x-users-view-experience-the-platform/"
categories:
  - "Facebook"
  - "Instagram"
  - "Politics Online"
  - "TikTok"
  - "Twitter (X)"
datasets:
  - name: "American Trends Panel Wave 144"
    url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/american-trends-panel-wave-144/"
---

# 2. How X users view, experience the platform

For Americans who use X – [about a quarter of adults, as of last year](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/01/31/americans-social-media-use/) – it’s a place people turn to stay entertained, connect with others and keep up with what’s going on.

At the same time, it’s a platform where change has been a constant, including Elon Musk’s [rebranding of it from Twitter to X](https://www.axios.com/2023/08/03/twitters-x-rebrand-explained). Throughout the changes, X has been at the center of national debates surrounding [free speech](https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-technology-donald-trump-business-misinformation-c60bc41229339eaec5008188fa6d057c), [political discussion](https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/x-new-rules-political-discourse-concern-right-skepticism-left) and [democracy itself](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/05/01/after-musks-takeover-big-shifts-in-how-republican-and-democratic-twitter-users-view-the-platform/).

Our survey took a deep dive into users’ experiences and views of X. Among the key findings:

- **Politics is part of life on X.** About three-quarters of users (74%) see at least some political content on the platform, and a majority (59%) say keeping up with politics or political issues is a reason they use it.

- **Republicans who post about politics there are especially likely to say a major reason they do so is that their views feel welcome.** They’re more likely than Democrats who post about politics on X to say this is the case (54% vs. 33%). (Throughout this report, references to Republicans and Democrats include independents who lean toward each party.)

- **More users say X is mostly good (38%) than bad (27%) for democracy, but there are deep partisan divides on this topic. **The share saying it’s mostly good has risen since our last survey. This reflects growing positivity among Republican users.

- **Despite these divides, there’s bipartisan agreement that people feel free to express their political views on X.** Most Republican (89%) and Democratic (86%) users say this.

### Why and how people use X

Our survey explored the “why” and “what” behind how people use the platform.

#### Reasons for using X

[![A bar chart showing that Most users are on X because it’s entertaining, but majorities also use it for politics, news](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-01.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170744)

We asked X users about seven reasons they might use it. Among the key takeaways:

**X is entertaining. **Most users say this is a reason they’re on it, including more than four-in-ten who say this is a major reason.

**Many use it to get news or keep up with politics and political issues.** And about a quarter each say this is a *major *reason.

**Connection and keeping up with sports or pop culture round out the most commonly cited reasons for using X.** Majorities of users cite each as a reason for using X. Those shares each include roughly a quarter who say they’re major reasons for being on the platform.

***Related:**** [News as a reason people use X](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2024/06/12/x-users-experiences-with-news/)*

*By party*

Republican X users are more likely than their Democratic peers to say a major reason they use X is to keep up with politics (29% vs. 20%) or to get news (29% vs. 21%).

#### Seeing politics on X

Seeing politics on X is commonplace. The vast majority of X users (74%) come across at least some political content as they browse the site. This includes 29% who say all or most of what they see is about politics or political issues, and 45% who say that’s some of what they see.

[![A pie chart showing that The vast majority of X users see at least some political content on it](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-02.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170745)

But not everyone sees politics: 18% see only a little of this type of content, and 8% see none at all.

*By party*

Republican users (75%) are just as likely as Democratic users (73%) to see at least some politics on X.

#### Posting about politics on X

Even though the majority of X users see political content there, fewer post or share it themselves.

[![A pie chart showing that 14% of X users say they post at least some political content there](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-03.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170746)

Just 14% of X users say they share at least some things about politics or political issues there.

About one-in-five say they post, but that little (9%) or none (11%) of it is about politics. By far the largest share – 65% – don’t post on the platform at all.

*By party*

Republicans are somewhat more likely than Democrats to say they post all, or mostly, political content (9% vs. 5%).

#### Why do people post about politics on X?

In total, 24% of X users say they post at least a little about politics there. We followed up by asking them about four specific reasons why they might do so.

[![A bar chart showing that Most X users who post about politics say it’s because their views are welcome there – but also because they feel obligated to do so](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-04.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170747)

Among X users who post about politics:

- Many say their **views being welcome on X** (76%) and **feeling it’s something they should do** (74%) are reasons they post about political topics.

- 67% say it’s because **politics belongs there.**

- 58% say a major or minor reason they post about politics is that it’s **a place they can make a difference**.

*By party*

[![A dot plot showing that Republicans who post about politics on X are more likely than Democrats to say that a major reason they do so is that their views are welcome there](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-05.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170748)

Republicans and Democrats cite similar *major* reasons why they post about politics on X, with one exception: it being a welcoming environment. Some 54% of Republican X users who post about politics say this is a major reason, versus 33% of their Democratic counterparts.

Democrats, on the other hand, are more likely than Republicans to cite this as a *minor* reason (38% vs. 26%).

#### Why don’t people post about politics on X?

[![A bar chart showing that 51% of those who don’t post about politics on X say it’s because they don’t think it will make a difference](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-06.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170749)

Next, we asked the 11% of X users who say they post, but not about politics, about four potential reasons why they might not do this.[5.numoffset="5" Findings for why people do not post about politics are not broken out by party due to sample size considerations.]

They’re more likely to say it's because it won’t make a difference than to say politics doesn’t belong there.

Among X users who post, but *never* about politics:

- 51% say it’s because **posting there won’t make a difference,** including 29% who say that’s a major reason they don’t post about politics.

- Similarly, roughly four-in-ten each say a reason is **avoiding criticism or harassment** (42%) or **not caring about politics** (41%).

- About a third (36%) of those who don’t post about politics cite **politics not belonging there** as a reason.

### How X users see its climate and impact

Politics plays a prominent role in X users’ day-to-day experiences – as well as in the platform’s policies and decisions. It’s been in the spotlight for everything from [reinstating banned users](https://www.npr.org/2022/11/19/1131351535/elon-musk-allows-donald-trump-back-on-twitter) to [advocating for free speech on the platform](https://whyy.org/episodes/elon-musk-twitter-and-free-speech/).

In this light, we wanted to understand how X users themselves feel about the platform’s impact and environment – both the good and the bad.

#### X and American democracy

[![A line chart showing that Growing share of Republican X users see it as mostly good for democracy](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-07.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170750)

Overall, more X users say the platform is mostly good for democracy (38%) than say it is mostly bad (27%); 34% say it has no impact.

The share saying it’s good has ticked up since 2023 and is now roughly on par with when we first asked about this in 2021 – [before Musk bought the platform](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/27/technology/elon-musk-twitter-deal-complete.html).

*By party*

Views of X and democracy are deeply partisan. Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to say it’s good for democracy (53% vs. 26%). Democrats are three times as likely as Republicans to say it’s *bad* (39% vs. 13%).

These partisan divides have shifted dramatically over the past several years. Today, 53% of Republican users say X is mostly good for American democracy, compared with 43% who said so a year ago and just 17% in 2021.

At the same time, Democratic users have become more likely to deem the site bad for democracy since the question was first asked in 2021. That share has risen from 28% to 39% today.

#### Free expression on X

[![A bar chart showing that Across parties, X users widely view it as a place where people feel free to express their political views](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-08.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170751)

X has been in the national – and even global – spotlight recently over [Musk’s pledges related to users’ speech](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/18/musk-moraes-brazil-free-speech/). But do users view it as a place where politics can freely be shared?

Most X users (87%) say so – they think people feel free to openly express their political views on the platform. Only 12% think people *don’t* feel free to do so on X.

*By party*

Similar shares of Republican (89%) and Democratic (86%) users say people generally feel free to express their political views.

#### Political content users see on X

[![A bar chart showing that X users are about equally likely to say the political content they see leans liberal versus conservative](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-09.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170752)

Asked how the political content they see on X leans, users hold mixed views. About one-in-five each say it leans mostly liberal (19%) or mostly conservative (18%).

The largest share says it doesn’t lean either way (31%). About a quarter (23%) are not sure, and 8% don’t see anything about politics or political issues.

*By party*

There are minor differences in views by party. Democratic users are somewhat more likely than their GOP peers to say what they see leans liberal (22% vs. 16%). Republican users, on the other hand, are more likely to say it doesn’t lean either way (37% vs. 26%).

#### Harassment on X

[![A bar chart showing that Many X users – especially Democrats – see harassment as a problem on the platform](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/06/PI_2024.06.12_politics-across-platforms_2-10.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/?attachment_id=170753)

About three-quarters of users (73%) say people getting harassed is a problem on X, including 32% who say it’s a *major *problem.

*By party*

There are sizable partisan gaps in views of this issue’s extent. Democratic users are far more likely than Republican users to say harassment is a major problem on X (48% vs. 15%).

By contrast, 40% of Republicans who use the site say harassment is *not* a problem on X, compared with 13% of their Democratic counterparts.

---

**Next:** [3. How Facebook users view, experience the platform](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/06/12/how-facebook-users-view-experience-the-platform.md)