Social Media Says What?

I am — or rather, I was — a huge fan of Twitter. I follow a diverse group of scientists, birders, artists, pastoral folks (mostly pastors and rabbis, and a couple of Sikhs and Muslims), lawyers, activists, and a couple of politicians I like. I try to make sure that I’m following people who don’t look like me, who don’t necessarily believe the same things I believe, and people who have different areas of expertise.

The world is huge and interesting, and, at its best, Twitter is a good place to get a glimpse of some of the many people, projects, and perspectives that make it so huge and interesting. I don’t agree with all of them, and sometimes I just don’t understand where a person is coming from. But here’s the thing: not one single person on this planet actually needs my agreement or approval to live a full, remarkable life.

I also try to remember that engagement on Twitter is not always real-life engagement. Most of the time, my opinions are not relevant to the discussion, or I don’t have specific knowledge of a topic. I have, occasionally, commented negatively on a specific politician’s obtuseness, or cruelty, or act of bad faith… but I’m getting better at keeping that stuff to myself, because at least some of the time, these folks are just out here trying to get a rise out of the masses. It’s cheap, meaningless, and unserious — my input on Twitter does nothing to change that.

And then there are the trolls, groups of small, petty people who like nothing better than to wait in the wings with a “well, ack-shull-ly…” They offer no insight, add nothing to the conversation, and are just generally unpleasant. Also, many of them seem to enjoy being asshats.

And because there is no accountability on Twitter, it seems to breed this kind of dipshittery.

But, see, here’s the thing: I don’t need to put myself in the way of disagreeable, unpleasant folks on Twitter. I can choose to spend time elsewhere.

So, at least for the next few weeks of Election season (ugh.), I will be taking a break from the socials… mostly… because there’s really nothing better than dog reels on Instagram…

Enjoy this plant.