Though that may sound akin to following a topic on other similar platforms, Bluesky’s feeds completely change the posts users see. On similar platforms, those topics are integrated into your feed, but on Bluesky, those topics are your feed. Bluesky also allows users to create user lists that double as quasi-feeds comprised of users on that list and as a centralized collection of accounts in a specific category.

In this way, Bluesky is the most customizable and controllable social media platform I have used. There is an abundance of feeds about tons of topics – including “Blacksky,” which specifically features black creators – and if you cannot find the feed you want, you can create your own. Bluesky can be whatever you want it to be, and the user interface to do so is incredibly simple and easy to use.

The main issue I have with Bluesky is an increased risk of echo chambers. Because filtering what you do and do not want to see is so easy on Bluesky, I worry users will rarely see posts challenging their perspectives. In fact, you can already see this trend emerging: there is a user-created “Democrats” feed comprised of posts by prominent Democrats, but no user has created a Republican equivalent. Because it is so easy to remove certain ideas from your feed – and because some political ideas are underrepresented on the platform – Bluesky users are uniquely at risk of falling into echo chambers.

Conversely, though, because Bluesky is so customizable, users who try to can combat echo chambers more proactively than they would be able to on other platforms. In fact, a “Republicans & Democrats” feed of posts that mention both parties already exists (though it has only four likes). Moreover, because Bluesky only has 24 million users – by comparison, Instagram has 2 billion users – I am unsure if this problem of underrepresented political viewpoints will persist as the platform grows and more users of diverse political backgrounds make accounts, feeds and user lists.

I cannot talk about Bluesky without also talking about X (formerly known as Twitter). Since Musk purchased the platform in Oct. 2022 and rebranded it in July 2023, users, including myself, have exited in droves. I chose to leave when I noticed a shift in X’s algorithm toward promoting bots, unvetted advertisements and toxic accounts that sponsor harmful ideals. Using the app was not fun anymore, and I did not realize how much I missed it until I downloaded Bluesky.

It is hard not to notice how similar Bluesky is to Twitter, and to me, that is one of its biggest draws. Bluesky scratches an itch Twitter once did, and its customizability makes it the most unique and interesting platform to come out in a while. If you are like me and deleted X, make an account. If you want more control over your social media algorithms, try out the feeds and user lists. And if you just want to doomscroll on something new, Bluesky is the perfect app for you.