Schadrach

It lost it’s meaning before that.

It started as “we have confirmed you are who you say you are, public figure”, and that was it.

The some Twitter features were pegged to it.

Then it spread.

Then it also somehow became a “Twitter approves of this message” flag, as some people were stripped of their check for posting offensive things (probably most notoriously Milo).

Then Twitter staff started expediting the process in exchange for essentially bribes.

Then Elon buys Twitter.

Then it just became a subscription service, with enhanced features over non-check users.

It is. But the reality of those sites is that for a guy the vast majority of your messages will never be read. You are shouting at the void and hoping for the best. This does not incentivize taking the time and psychological investment to write thoughtful messages, because you will send comparatively few and the lack of response is harder to deal with when you’re more invested. It incentivizes sending the quickest messages that you care about the least to as many as possible. The guy didn’t send her a dick pic, he sent every woman in a 50 mile radius the same dick pic hoping that with enough sheer volume he’ll get a response.

It’s basically spam that wants to fuck you, because non-spam options don’t get you anywhere.

And, the sites end up eating battery.

Yeah, but they would have done that in 2005 too, if you were using them on a device with a battery.

The truck owners I know, myself included, use them all the time for towing and like the added utility having the bed as as secondary feature.

Then you put it beside a truck from 30 years ago that’s a quarter the overall size but has the same bed capacity and towing power along with much better visibility instead of not being able to see the child you’re about to run over. And then you understand what people mean when they say massive trucks - giant ridiculously unnecessary things that are all about being a status symbol and dodging regulations rather than practicality.

You underestimate the number of people you wouldn’t class as intelligent. If no one wanted massive trucks, they would have disappeared off the market within a couple of years because they wouldn’t sell. They’re ridiculous, inefficient hulks that basically no one really needs but they sell, so they continue being made.

…for any natural number of repetitions of “buffalo”, no less.