'Desperate for validation': Are blue checks uncool now?

Twitter

Blue check marks were once considered a status symbol. Some users now call it "the dreaded badge" or "that stinking mark."

Twitter started removing the verification symbol from thousands of celebrity, media and politician profiles last week. Elon Musk, Twitter's CEO continued to rollout new features.

Twitter Blue

For $8 per month, you can subscribe to a service that includes special features such as tweet editing in addition the blue badge.

Many users now find that the symbol is no longer cool, since anyone can buy a blue check. Rapper Doja Cat says the icon makes its owner look "desperate" for validation. Others see it as a sign of support for Musk during his turbulent takeover. A chorus of prominent users shouts over those who pay for the symbol and value it enough to do so.

Does the blue check still have its appeal now that it no longer has an exclusive air?

"The idea of paying for status and having it not be something you're given, seems to fundamentally dislike people who already have status," Robyn Caplan said, a senior research at the Data & Society Research Institute. Jacob Sartorius (20), a musician, content creator and entrepreneur, was thrilled to receive a blue check for 2016. It was a great honor. He said it was a kind of symbol that something is happening.

Sartorius stated that he'd rather spend $8 for a Subway sandwich than Twitter Blue. He said, "It isn't cool anymore." Self-consciousness of Twitter users when it comes their

blue checks

The symbol has evolved from being a tool to stop impersonation to a cultural marker that is constantly changing.

Twitter launched verification badges in 2009, during the "red carpet" era of what Caplan calls

Social media

When companies tried to lure celebrities and brands on their platforms. The badges were used to reassure public figures that their identities would not be stolen, and they also served as a boost for their ego.

The fact that so many celebrities received badges and the faceless mass did not made the race for verification a bloodsport. And the blue check became a symbol of success. Online guides were available to help users gain access to the club. Musk wanted to undermine this two-tiered system, which he called "a lords and peasants' system." He has presented Twitter Blue as an attempt to democratize Twitter. Musk's announcement that he would remove checkmarks from user profiles in the near future triggered a wave of blue-check paranoia. Musk removed the badges from April 20, after allowing the anticipated judgment day to pass at the beginning of the month. Musk has a long-standing affinity for the number "420", which is used to refer to marijuana. He once dropped it in a tweet, which landed him into hot water with Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk didn't respond to a comment request, and a message sent to Twitter's Communications Department was automatically answered with a poop-emoji. The purge of last Thursday began to alter the meaning of this symbol within a few hours. It shifted once again when blue checks appeared on popular accounts over the weekend. Sartorius was upset when his blue check reappeared mysteriously, as he worried his followers might think he paid for Twitter Blue. LeBron, Stephen King, and Paul Dochney (who posts under URL) also had checks appear on their accounts. All three said that they wouldn't pay for verification. (Musk claimed to be paying for "a handful" of Twitter Blue accounts, including James'. Others were able get rid of them. Patton Oswalt, a comedian, said that he got rid of it by changing his display. Sartorius suggested he may do the same. Chrissy Teigen said that her blue check was a "punishment" and she finally got rid of it. Travis Brown, who tracks subscriptions to the site, estimates that between 615, 000 and 650,000 Twitter accounts have Blue verification. As of last Thursday, 4.8% of verified accounts under the old system were Blue verified. He estimated that 8,000 accounts who were verified using the old system received Blue verification. Those who didn't regain verification will be heading into an uncertain future, checkless. Adam Richman, 48 - a television host who hosts shows about food - lost his check on Thursday. He claimed that the badge was no longer an effective authentication tool and that he did not want to wear it as a symbol of status. What's the use if my 8-year-old cousin can get a checkmark? He said.