Commentary

3 Simple Ways To Make Twitter A Better Place

I’ve never been on TikTok. Rarely open Instagram. Have pretty much given up on Facebook. Only use LinkedIn for professional updates.

But Twitter is my jam.

I spend a lot of time on there. Read a lot of tweets. Have a lot of emotional reactions to those tweets: delight, anger, heartache.

Two billion people use it, but 99% of them don’t know how. I try to notice the memes, the patterns, the formulas.

I try to pay attention to how these work and what reactions they generate in me. And setting aside the obvious clickbait, here’s what I’ve noticed:

Twitter, like every social media platform, is optimized for feeling over thinking.

One of the strongest feelings it can generate is belonging: I am part of the in tribe.

Here are some of the ways we can provide this feeling of belonging for our readers:

1. We send tweets without context. Maybe I drop a tweet that just says, “Speechless.” Or “’Nuff said.” Maybe it’s an inside joke, or a line that already assumes you know who Jorts the Cat or Lil Nas X is. The intention is clear: I’m signalling that this message is intended only for those who, like me, are Extremely Online, and that all others are excluded.

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2. We argue for people who already agree with us. Sometimes we do this to vent; sometimes we do it because we’re so certain of our own rightness we can’t fathom what it might be like to hold a different view. So we’ll say things like, “Here are 3 reasons the Republican plan won’t work,” or “The Democrats are at it again.” If I already think the way you think, I’ll love these tweets. If I don’t, I’m completely shut out.

3. We go heavy on the snark. A year ago, I wrote an article about my efforts to give up being snarky on Twitter:

“I can tell you, it is hard. It’s so tempting to write, ‘Hey [insert person or brand name here]. Do better.’ The giddy smugness! The intoxicating self-righteousness! Could anything be more sublime?”

Snarkiness creates a stronger sense of belonging in those who agree with me and a stronger sense of rejection of those who don’t. It’s not a good-faith form of communication. It doesn’t invite constructive dialogue.

Because of these observations, I’m making an effort to #dobetter and be less snarky. To explain my positions rather than assume you agree with me. To avoid sending “no context” tweets.

Let me be clear: I’m no kind of saint. I’m actually kind of shit at this. I get the same hit of dopamine off an in joke as anyone else. I laugh harder when I know I’m part of a small group of people who “get it.” I’m susceptible to nodding approvingly at a good clapback.

So I’m in no position to criticize anyone. What I can do is extend an invitation: an invitation to maybe notice these phenomena, and to notice when we ourselves are the perpetrators. To pause before hitting #sendtweet. To ask ourselves, “Who is this for? Does it need more context? What am I trying to achieve?”

And then to maybe reframe the content. To ask the question, “What would it look like if I genuinely wanted to engage on this topic?” To invite connection rather than exclusion.

Want to join me?

1 comment about "3 Simple Ways To Make Twitter A Better Place".
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  1. John Grono from GAP Research, August 1, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.

    I've heard that the 'Delete' button is effective.

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