Why I’m not leaving Twitter

Background
Twitter is now officially called X but I refer to it as twitter, below

for ease.

At a talk I went to, at Google, about 5 years ago, the social media analysts said twitter was not the most popular platform but had the highest ratio of trolls. It was the least representative of general public opinion, yet the most quoted by mainstream media. Politically, it was dominated by the Left despite the Saudis being major investors.

It was a labyrinth of mind-boggling identity politics, segregation and division.

Since then Twitter has been bought by Elon Musk. He has renamed it X and allowed many previously suspended accounts to return. His conversation, recently, on the platform, with the previously suspended President Trump, on gained over one billion views. 

Some users say the platform no longer aligns with their values and they’re leaving.

I’ve criticised twitter often but I’m staying.

Here are some thoughts:

Free speech. Diversity of opinion.

Both are crucial. Not just as laudable ideals but as real, practical, messy, sometimes ugly necessities.

No one individual, political party, media outlet, institution has a monopoly on the ‘right’ opinions’, the truth or what is ‘acceptable’ to say.

It’s helpful to know what others are thinking, saying and writing, whether we agree with it or not. In fact, if we don’t agree with it, it’s probably even more important that we know about it, so we can understand it or counter it.

As a barrister, it’s part of my skill set to take on an opposing position and be able to challenge it with reasoned argument.

Twitter is one of the few places left where we can get the broadest range of opinions. Of course, some  will offend us, upset us, make us angry. Twitter has over 500 million users, after all. We can’t possibly expect everyone to think the same.

Twitter’s role in my life

Twitter is where I get up to the minute news, share banter with my followers, post my videos of events I’ve attended / famous people I’ve met, promote articles I’ve written and generally scroll through for content that interests or amuses me.

It’s a small part of my life. I don’t rely on it for work, friendship, a social life and certainly not as a moral compass. Therefore, how, when and why I use it is entirely within my control.

If I want to take a break from it, I do so. If I want to use it as a soapbox for my political/ ideological views I can do (I personally choose not to but many do). If I want to use it to communicate with people who live halfway across the world, it’s a great resource. 

If my timeline causes me upset or makes me angry or in some way impacts my emotional equilibrium, I log off. Sometimes I delete the app from my phone so that I’m not tempted to go on it.

I don’t expect 500 million people to post to suit my feelings.

Therefore –

I don’t need Twitter to ‘align with my values.’

Thankfully, Twitter has never aligned with my personal values. It’s too vast a platform to do that. So, I don’t expect it to. I don’t need Twitter to validate my political beliefs or my view of the world. It’s a global public forum, not my personal echo chamber.

How arrogant, pompous, and narcissistic would it be to expect a platform open to the world to only reflect views I find acceptable. 

What’s more, I certainly hope twitter doesn’t align with my values. At its worst Twitter has always been a cesspit of abuse, bigotry, cruelty and extreme views. The difference between old Twitter under Jack Dorsey and New Elon Musk ‘X’ is who the vitriol is against. 

If you previously watched people you disagree with be abused, censored and suspended and didn’t leave, then there’s not much moral high ground to speak of now.

Block and mute features

If I really don’t want to see the content of an account, I can block or mute it. I can create my own little twitter world, if I choose. If content I don’t want to see still seeps through, it’s irritating but it’s not the end of the world. I can scroll past it or mute or block the account posting it. 

Joining Twitter is a personal choice. How you use it is a personal choice. And leaving it is also a personal choice too. Nothing more. It really isn’t like being part of some resistance movement during wartime! 

Even thousands of individual accounts making a mass exodus won’t affect twitter but will affect the reach of those individuals’ accounts if they have a business or service to promote. Personally I don’t need twitter for work but some of my videos , especially of the Prince and Princess of Wales and A list Hollywood stars can get up to a million views, within hours on twitter and get picked up by mainstream media outlets. People enjoy them. So, why not?

If twitter is affecting your mental health then the sensible thing to do is to delete your account and live your life off-line for a while. Or forever, if need be. But it’s not some moral crusade.

Since French actor and cultural icon Alain Delon has died today, here’s a quote from Thierry Fremaux, the artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, when Delon was honoured : “We know that intolerance is back. We’re being asked to believe that if we all think the same, it will protect us from the risk of being disliked or being wrong.”

It doesn’t.