Twitter Has Increased its Character Limit from 140 to 280 and the World is Losing It!

Twitter has a notoriously restricted character limit. Users are only allowed to post tweets that lie within 140 characters. The limit further reduces if you decide to attach a photo or video to your tweet.

However, almost 10 years after Twitter’s arrival on the social media scene, it announced its intention to increase the character limit from 140 to 280.

A test run has already begun and soon every user will be able to post a 280 character, super tweet!

Now one can only imagine the fanfare that this announcement is attracting. Twitterati everywhere in the world are absolutely going crazy!

How long can your tweets be with #280characters ?
This long: pic.twitter.com/Ae8mH1jjOG

— Heer.txt (@m_hiral) September 27, 2017

But Not Everyone’s Happy…

However, while some see it as a welcome move, others are not so happy. They are worried that this would give people an excuse to post unnecessarily long tweets, killing the whole fun of micro-blogging.

If we wanted to read essays we would log into Facebook so it's a no from me. #280characters pic.twitter.com/EvrOJXpTJU

— Sheldon Cameron (@sheldon_cameron) September 27, 2017

Why Has Twitter Increased the Character Limit, Again?

Twitter decided to increase the character limit based on its research that showed the restriction of 140 characters to be a major source of frustration for its users.

Officials at Twitter believe that increasing character limit will help people articulate their thoughts better and hence increase the number of tweets.

Are More Tweets a Good Thing?

An increase in the number of tweets will perhaps be a good thing for Twitter but most Twitter users are not convinced that it’s a good thing for the world!

With hate speech already so rampant on social media, Twitterati believe, a 28 character limit will only add to hate mongering.

Pic1: 140 characters
Pic2: #280characters pic.twitter.com/LsdgknVV7o

— Sohaib Khattak (@i4mshk) September 27, 2017

Then there’s obviously Donald Trump to worry about…

Dear Twitter, be careful what you wish for. #140Characters #280Characters pic.twitter.com/Tab6BEPn9I

— James Melville (@JamesMelville) September 27, 2017

 But is 280 Character Limit Really that Long?

In all honestly, I don’t think so! I mean I get the hype because people have been complaining about the 140 characters forever, but a 280 character limit won’t make a huge difference. Ellen DeGeneres put it so perfectly!

I’m so excited to be part of @Twitter’s #280characters rollout. Let me just say it’s an honor and a privilege. I’d like to thank my wonderf

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) September 27, 2017

To all the overactive Twitterati, I would say this: REEELAAAX! It’s only a minor increase; stop flooding my feed with your rant!