In the recent past, I began to feel like I was getting second hand information while perusing my favorite news websites. Most of the articles contained several links to Twitter posts made by someone other than the author. So if all the hottest news leads were coming through Twitter first, I thought maybe I should give it a try. I have never really understood the platform, but I assumed it must be pretty great since I was seeing so many links in news stories. Boy was I wrong! Twitter is most definitely not for me. But is Twitter right for you? Let me fill you in on a few details about my experience, and you can decide for yourself.
The Hate Knows No Bounds
Without a doubt, the worst thing about Twitter in my opinion is the amount of hate being thrown around the social media platform. On my first day I was called ignorant, stupid, and a moron by other users. All of this over a few benign comments I had made on random Twitter posts. If you love stating your opinion in a public forum only to be attacked ruthlessly by others, then Twitter may be right up your alley. Nonstop, one sided arguing is pretty much all I encountered when I tried to voice my opinion. Like many people, I do not like being openly and rabidly hated by other users on any online platform for stating my opinion. I have always welcomed an intelligent, open debate on any topic. The problem is, there is far too much animosity flying around this platform to even have a respectful conversation. In fact, I only lasted two days on Twitter before I deleted my account.
An Unpleasant Surprise
What surprised me the most was not how I was continuously attacked over my comments, but how other users seemed to gleefully support these attacks. When one user would attack me, others would pile on in support of the attack. It was quickly clear to me that a large number of Twitter users seem to revel in attacking those with opposing opinions. This is not a platform for debate, it is a platform for hate. If there was any educated, thoughtful debate going on, I did not witness it.
They Are Not Alone
Not only did those with opposing views continuously attack my comments, they seemed to be very impressed with each other to the point of being nauseating. Confident that their opinions were somehow facts, they would inundate me with links to opinion articles supporting their attacks. Or even worse, links to factual text that they had clearly misinterpreted to support their points. They would then openly brag to each other about how they had educated me or set me straight. When I did make pertinent points backed up with links to factual evidence, I was labeled by those with opposing views as a paid troll.
Conservatives Censored
Although it is well known, I feel I should mention the rampant censoring of politically conservative posts by the powers that be at Twitter. In the United States, this has been proven time and time again in the public sphere, only to be discounted by Twitter. Of course, in cases where the censorship was so glaringly obvious that a child could figure it out, Twitter simply stated that an error was made on their part. This is not some terrible joke, it is the absolute truth. In the very recent past Twitter has been caught red handed censoring conservative views, and that was their response. In a stark contradiction, liberals are rarely censored on the platform, even when they obviously violate Twitter’s terms of service. This has also been proven time and time again.
Twitter Is Not for Me
It became clear to me almost immediately upon participating on the Twitter platform that this was not my cup of tea. Nobody wanted to debate my opinions. They all just wanted to tell me how wrong I was. If you enjoy having every opinion you post blasted as ignorant and stupid, then Twitter is most definitely something you should try. If you value your opinion and the opinions of others, you would probably have more fun staring at a brick wall.
Comments
Alan (author) from West Georgia on November 17, 2020: That is exactly right. It is a toxic environment indeed. That’s a great comment, thanks. Raymond Philippe from The Netherlands on November 17, 2020: Alan, I was an early twitter adopter. So I had some fun in the old days. If I was new on social media I wouldn’t join twitter. It has become a toxic environment where imo conservative voices are not welcome anymore.
