The Awful State of Twitter

[pennswoods]

I have been back on Twitter during and since my travels in July and while I have been enjoying the Harris/Walz good vibes, I still see it as something I need to remove entirely from my life soon because it feeds some of my worst impulses. It is hard to step away permanently because of the history I have there. Just last week, I passed my 15 year anniversary. I still follow so many of my fan friends there that I met during my Sherlock days. And during the 7 years I was in Sweden, it was a major resource for my career and professional visibility. During peak COVID, it was a way to stay connected with the world and to gather information about the virus, vaccine availability and other things. I have a lot of photos and memories connected to that account. 

But I think I do need to walk away entirely. It is not what it once was and it has become something else.

The past few days, I have seen countless tweets posted by BlackTwitter and others critical of the anti-Harris position being promoted by (some) of the Free Palestine movement. There is a lot of anger and condemnation - so much so in such a short period of time that it feels very orchestrated. 

I believe now that anything that provokes such a strong emotional reaction on Twitter or other social media is a sign of manipulation. If I feel this way, I know that I am being manipulated. 

I don't care who is doing the manipulation, I don't like having my attention and emotional resources exploited.

Elon's interview with Trump has also riled up a lot of EU regulators and some of my EU friends. I think this is going to have ramifications for the whole platform too. 

I think it's time for me to close up shop soon. I just need to grieve a little first. 

 

Comments

[pennswoods]

I feel the same. My use of Twitter now has gone from a productive work-related one to one for entertainment. But sometimes the entertainment is so toxic, I have to step away. I have a lot of memories wrapped up in it and that's part of the reason why I have held on for so long. I'm holing on to the past.