I don’t mean to hijack Axel’s thread—you should all read it. But, having asked if I may RT comment, I want to add a few thoughts to this to say why I have not, even though I agree with everything Axel wrote, decided to leave … but have put Twitter on notice for myself https://twitter.com/antoni_uk/status/1387397018335813633

First of all I should say that Axel’s thread hits home not only because I’ll miss his voice here and because he’s a good friend, but because some of the points he makes partly relate to me: he has experienced first-hand what Twitter can do when it spills into real life. My life.

Just because he happened to meet me. He’s not the only one of my friends to have had such an experience and the reality is that I will never be able to not feel guilty about that (even though I know I haven’t actually done anything). I find this very hard to come to terms with.

But that’s just for context. Much more vital, really, are his other points, so again: do read them. Whatever you conclude, this time is a good juncture for reflection and that doesn’t hurt to do sometimes. So let me move on to some of my own:

I have never seen a more toxic Twitter than now. Maybe some of it genuinely is a result of a Brexit + Covid-related desperation we all feel sometimes. Possible. But the difference is that the toxicity doesn’t come from, to use a shorthand, “the usual suspects” this time.

So I’m not talking about harassers etc—they remain a big problem, but what I mean is a more general shift in tone and discussion. Twitter has never been a worse echo chamber; never been more hostile and never been a more useless tool for trying to facilitate some positive change.

Let me use myself to illustrate:
For 5+ years I was not ok but sort of prepared to accept all the shit I got because I knew, and could see, that I was able to make a difference.
Now I still get all the same shit and worse, but I see extremely limited scope for any difference.

I think this is true more broadly. Why? Because the almost exclusive focus on Twitter at the moment is outrage culture. What I mean by that is: stirring up outrage, but falling short of actually trying to enable positive change.

I know if I tweet something quite blunt about, say, Boris Johnson, it will get traction. Why? Because it’s what many here have already decided they want to hear. If, on the other hand, I tweet anything that doesn’t serve that purpose it gets very limited traction.

I don’t want to serve that outrage culture purpose. I don’t want to be defined by saying what serves an echo chamber. I will say what I think. I always have. That’s not about serving any audience, it’s about frank discussion and being genuine.

I am astounded by how many have abandoned any such principles just to feed that outrage culture. They do so, that is very clear to see, because they know it gives them RTs and a few new followers. They do so no matter the cost, even if it’s sharing some crazy conspiracy theory.

This approach is seriously detrimental. 1) because it undermines the community we built—a community that can still make a difference if only it tried; and 2) because the outrage culture approach doesn’t even pretend to want to help make things better.
So how to get out of this?

I am not asking anyone to accept Brexit—I don’t. I’m not asking anyone to go out of their way to somehow make all this mess work—it’s a shitshow; they own it. But we all need to find a way to move forward. For some, like Axel, it may mean leaving Twitter.

For others, I know, it has meant moving from England to Scotland, for example. But whatever it is, find it for yourself. Because you know what that outrage culture shows more than anything else? That many of us are stuck.

Stuck because of the horrid things that have happened. I understand that, I do. But we still need to find a way forward. Why? Because all else is a waste of our energy—both individual and collective. Don’t do that. We actually did build a powerful community here on Twitter.

Of course Twitter is only Twitter, but it can still make a difference if we use it right. We all need to vent here sometimes—of course that’s ok. But in general, why waste your energy and platform on, say, airing the views of those who got us here, on engaging them?

How about using this energy for those who want to make a difference, for their voices—that’s individuals and organisations—who are standing up to all this. Who want to write the next chapter. Help them get traction. It does still make a difference.

For myself I can say that I will continue to try, but this is no longer a fixed view. If these Twitter problems continue, I see no reason to stay. I have already paid a price that’s too high, self-preservation will kick in eventually if I continue to see that little works.

The same will be true for many others—especially many women and other groups constantly at the receiving end of hate. If so, that, in turn, will make Twitter even more of an echo chamber and hostile place. We can prevent this … if, collectively, we try. /end

PS: One more illustration: this thread has lost me a good few followers in the short time since posting. That’s ok, of course: we can choose who we want to listen too; I do too. But I do find this so, so telling in light of what I said here. I’ll leave it at that. /end PS