I decided to quit Twitter and I feel like a new man – The Guardian

I decided to quit Twitter last month. I havent been engaging properly with it for a while, only tweeting to point out a podcast or a show I was doing. But still, Id had enough and tweeted to say as much (yes, I did a leaving tweet, which I admit is a little embarrassing).

I was tired of the incessant comments about me getting work only because of diversity quotas and political correctness, from people who ignore the fact I couldnt care less whether its talent or initiatives that get me the work: Im still taking the money.

I have long been of the opinion that Twitter is a double-edged sword, except one where the downsides increasingly outweigh the positives: one edge of the sword is much sharper, heavier and more troll-like than the other. Theres no room for nuance. I once tweeted something sarcastic about Doctor Who having a female star, attempting to lampoon the morons who have a problem with it, and it was taken at face value; I was then attacked for having a problem with the Doctor being female. Which I obviously do, but wouldnt state publicly. (That was a joke, dont @ me: its pointless anyway now.)

A while ago, I read So Youve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson, a fascinating look at social media takedowns or pile-ons of various people and the repercussions. I remember thinking it represented the absolute nadir of Twitter behaviour but if anything we can look back on that time as the halcyon days, when those incidents were few and far between.

On the other hand, when the pile-on is one I agree with, I find it hugely enjoyable to watch. Seeing the Fyre festival drama unfold on Twitter was a joy: after watching a documentary about the super-rich festival-turned-nightmare, I spent hours scrolling through posts on the hashtag to see if anyone else was as annoyed as I was that Ja Rule, one of the organisers, seemed to be getting away scot-free. It can also be useful as an instant reflection of what people make of something. Recently, I watched the first two episodes of the Marvel series WandaVision and wanted to know if everyone else was as utterly confused as I was: were we meant to have enjoyed it? (It turns out I was supposed to be confused about that.)

So I do understand those who say they enjoy Twitter and get something from it. Some people have positive discourse on it, and there is a 3-5% chance that if you are on Twitter you are not pure evil. There are people who feel less lonely as a result of the connection it gives them, and it can be a good way to make people aware of a cause. But I think my biggest issue with the site is the tone; the way people speak to each other is truly unacceptable.

Take my leaving tweet, for example. I said it was my last post but that people could follow me on Instagram and Facebook (and TikTok and, most likely, OnlyFans before long). Loads of the replies were lovely and said they understood why I was going, would follow me elsewhere and hoped the trolls werent getting me down. But a couple said they didnt give a crap; that I was scum for staying on Facebook and they hoped I died soon. Something like that Im paraphrasing. Of course I focused only on those replies and came away utterly disgusted with humanity. This might say more about me than Twitter.

Its felt pretty good since I left a bit like decluttering my brain. Im less worried about discovering that people are suddenly annoyed by something I said in 1997. The other bonus is that I have managed to take the time I was spending on Twitter and focus it instead on TikTok, neglecting my family by entering into 1990s hip-hop wormholes on YouTube. Im like a new man.

See more here:

I decided to quit Twitter and I feel like a new man - The Guardian