twitter puts people on the defense. everything is seen as an invitation for agreement or disagreement; whereas platforms like insta are more so a one-way information flow, of the person putting up a post & leaving it. not saying one is better. but they do diff things.

things also move *fast* here. the lifespan of a tweet is a day? a week on tiktok, old videos are pushed repeatedly. on twt, conversations move so quickly that people are often only half in the loop, and who we follow, and who we're shown, shapes what part of the convo we see

the bigger the platform gets, the more you deal with people repeatedly violating boundaries. twitter creates a false sense of deserved accessibility; this idea that everyone On Here must be listening to everyone, at all times. it isn't physically possible.

it creates an impossible situation; ppl feel like they can't softblock, unfollow, mute. if they miss a tweet or a conversation they suddenly don't "care." and there's the very real truth that some people are just...not good at boundaries already. twitter feeds into that.

i've run into this more and more, honestly. there's a writer On Here (who i'm sure is like, perfectly nice, LOL) that used to constantly overshare in our mentions and it made me extremely uncomfortable. so i softb. i just...didn't want them to see my content anymore, lol.

in my eyes, i viewed it as protecting boundaries; unfortunately, that person saw it as a direct attack on what feels like a deserved accessibility, and will regularly write subtweets about me. i don't agree; but i understand it, in a way. bc twitter *tricks* us into familiarity.

there's also the very real, unfortunate truth that twt rewards people who learn how to master the language of social justice & progress & phrase things in a certain way without actual follow through. bad actors get elevated in a warm light, bc they know how to brand themselves.

i see all of this through a professional lens, as someone responsible for corporate accounts w millions of followers, were everything we tweet, RT, or even like has to be approved by lawyers

and i see it on book twitter, where power imbalances are skewed, and intentions masked

all social media acts as a mask, and a highlights reel, but twitter, in particular, seems to encourage unhealthy behavior because of this false sense of one-on-one interaction; this lack of boundaries; the literal fact that algorithm *rewards* hot takes & bad behavior

i watch social media patterns for a living. i see who chooses to speak up about what, and who pivots to a different tone when it no longer serves their needs. likes and rts do not a good opinion make, but twitter is built to make us *feel* that way and the result is... *gestures*

i don't know if i can stay on twitter, truly. i'd like to! i think there is a real benefit in providing two-way access to people. but twt creates an unhealthy space when we treat every interaction as a test; when we ignore that we are all, always, on some level, performing

and also, this. god, all of this. https://twitter.com/LoraBethWrites/status/1380546466066882565?s=20

i think book twitter has reached a breaking point. there's tension between folks who recognize this and folks who have been trained by the algorithm, subconsciously, to perpetuate some of these cycles. so we end up miscommunicating, making enemies & creating real wounds.

we end up with victims terrified to come forward, knowing they don't have the "social clout" to drive a fast-paced conversation. we end up with teens & reviewers being unsafe bc authors forget their power imbalance. we end up with authors exhausted & *ill* from lack of boundaries

i have no interest in opening old wounds, and i have no interest of clout for clout's sake, which is ironic, since i have a platform. if i'm being honest? i mostly just want to make jokes and build community. i try to use my platform mindfully, to boost when i can. but!

the very STRUCTURE of twitter sets us all up to fail. the fact that we fire off a tweet in a nanosecond, vs instagram where you have to physically take a picture, upload it, and post it, means twitter much more closely mirrors spoken conversation w/o the vocal context clues

think about every stupid text argument you've ever been in. there's no tone. no facial expressions. twitter is one massive group text in the worst way. our brains think we're speaking bc of how this platform processes language; but we're not. and boom - the context is gone.

i don't know how to fix this -- at large, or on a smaller scale, for our community. but i will tell you to look for patterns. repeated behavior speaks louder than a thread with a bunch of likes. intentional engagement over time and who people *elevate* says more than a hot take.

i try, very hard, to protect myself against the ways this algorithm makes us sick, while maintaining a degree of authenticity, when i can. but it's not easy. and i fuck up. and guys, let me repeat -- this is my *DAY JOB*. and for that, i have lawyers!

on here? it's just me.

throw in the pressure of publishing; of branding yourself, of pitching deeply person work, of trying to offset lack of publisher investment, and *of course* some folks on here are going to over-preform in a way that is rewarded by the algorithm, even if it does damage.

and it's -- not totally their fault. i'm sorry. ik. but it's true. do some of them know what they're doing? sure. but we can't ignore that an algorithm that rewards bad behavior is triggering a literal chemical response in us; hacking our brains, in a way we haven't evolved for.

we have a lot to reconcile with on who we elevate, & how, & why; on what we expect from many on here who have been shoved into the role of "minor public figure" with none of the training.

i don't have the answer. that's above my pay grade, man. i can only speak to what i see.

the last week on here has been the most painful of my life. i was forced to reopen wounds i never wanted to, and bring them to light. i violated my number one rule: never, ever share anything that can hurt you. it has & it did. i hope it was worth it. i'm not sure that it was.

i'll be honest: i have no interest in being a casualty of a broken algorithm, in a community that at best, has folks who willfully ignore it's purposes, and at worst, work it to ill advantage. i'd like to stay here. i don't know if i can. and if you're feeling that way? it's ok

i don't know how we fix twitter's problems. i don't know if they *can* be fixed. but i think we should talk about them, more. we can't pretend like we're all so puzzled by why this place makes us sick. none of us can pretend to be wholly innocent, myself included.

but i do have some advice; write things out before you send them into the world. write it on paper, if you can, if it's something that's deeply emotional. remember, always, that your words will reach far many more than you could ever anticipate -- you have to carry that weight.

ask yourself honestly: why am i saying this? interrogate the purpose of the algorithm, and your own reaction to "validation". check in with yourself. is this place making you sick? is it drawing out the worst in you? if yes, then leave. maybe not permanently -- but step away.

remember, please, i'm begging you, that this is never the whole picture; & it's not real life. it can feel like the entire world, but the mass majority of people, for better or worse, have no clue wtf goes on here. this is not do or die. it's twitter. take a walk, if you need it.

protect your boundaries. check your ego when it tells you a story about boundaries other people enforce. people's actions, 99%, have a lot more to do with them than they do with you. resist the impulse to assign importance and weight to something as silly as who follows who.

i've made some of the best friends of my life here. people i now call family, that i'd fly across the country. i've also gotten sick from it. i have been brought to tears from the kindness of strangers who, for some reason, were willing to step in and help when i was in crisis.

i have faced incredible cruelty i still can't comprehend.

i have been grateful to be here and hated it. it's a messy, complicated thing. i'm wary of anyone who pretends it isn't.

for now, the benefit of being here outweighs the bad. if that changes? then i leave. that's ok.

nothing about this place or social media is worth making yourself ill over. take a break if you need it.

leave, if you need it. i will be the *last* to judge you.

i tell people all the time -- it should be fun. there are more important things. you can do the work irl.

if you stay? be conscious of the ways the toxic cycle of the algorithm makes us sick, of what feeds it & who & how. check your ego & protect boundaries -- especially when you don't want to.

otherwise? the rot just keeps cycling. none of us want that.

at least, i don't.