Twitter is the absolute worst

[lionheart21]

Mar 27, 2017 15:29:38 GMT -5 GuyOfOwnage said:

Mar 27, 2017 12:45:02 GMT -5 lionheart21 said:

The general anonymity of it means that people can pretty much show their darker side and basically just be total assholes without fear of repercussions.

I used to think it was the anonymity thing too, but then I saw people on Facebook, using their real names, no less, acting exactly the same way. It's a platform where most of their vital information is right there for the world to see, and they still don't give a f***.

In fact, I'd say most forms of social media give me a whole new appreciation for how tightly moderated this place is.

One sliver lining to that one, though, is that a lot of companies nowadays will search a person's name on Google to see what their social media activity is like. And acting like that online is only gonna end up backfiring for them in the end.

[Raskovnik]

Social media is more of a curse than a blessing, I think. People suck overall, IMO. Giving everyone a platform to suck out loud and find other people who suck just as much as them so they can congregate and get even louder was a mistake. I think it's been ultimately detrimental to our society and culture because the bad people do outweighs the good. It's absolutely insane to me, for example, that it's just accepted that people leave vile comments on YouTube, or Twitter, or Facebook, etc. Like it's as natural as gravity. And maybe that is the case. You have the sum of all human knowledge at your fingertips, you can learn whatever you want and have real power to better yourself through this invention, and so many people just use it to shitpost or harass people they've never even met over things that don't even matter in ways that have very real repercussions. Then the shit from there spills out onto forums like this one and even real life. It's just not worth it to me. I'm sure someone will say "well good thing you aren't in charge, then!" Well, no duh.


It also leads to misinformation spreading like wildfire so now we live in this Twilight Zone world where the truth plain doesn't matter, if it ever did, and now we've got a split-screen reality. It wasn't like that before social media came along. Certainly not to this degree. If I could pinpoint the one moment everything went downhill, it's when everyone was able to get a smartphone with Internet access. Yikes.

All of this has contributed to me seriously minimizing my Internet time. This is the only forum I visit anymore because the moderating is A+ and if you suck odds are you won't be here very long. Even at that, I still consider deactivating my account every so often because there are flashes of the shit I see everywhere else that drives me crazy as a sober reminder of how thoroughly some BS has infiltrated the public consciousness. The more things progress the less I feel comfortable anywhere. I get it, that's on me, but it doesn't change how I feel. I recognize that I started talking about one thing and it led into another but it's been on my mind for a while. Even if things do eventually get better, I don't see it happening in my lifetime.

[nm]

[The Legend of Groose]

I like Twitter because you can mostly control your feed. Your Twitter experience is pretty much how you make it to be. Honestly it sounds like you've been following the wrong kind of people. It took me more than a few accounts to at last get use to it where I feel fine using Twitter.

[Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃]

Is Dustin Rhodes/Goldust still posting like a crazed lunatic on there, or did he finally calm down?

[The Captain]

Mar 27, 2017 15:25:19 GMT -5 Fade said:

I signed up years ago. Never used it.

I see the effects though...I dont know how people do it. Twitter. Tumblr. Even IG seems so vain.

The only one i've stuck with is Facebook and for the first time (recently) since joining up early in its inception, I barely, barely go anymore. Its far too infuriating on too many levels.

FAN and Reddit are it for me. And TBH, heavy exposure to both can get grating for their own specific reasons.

I've been taking a hiatus from Facebook recently, too. I made a New Years Resolution (lol I know) to spend less time on Facebook and I ended up stopping to go altogether.

I like to think I'm mostly a rational person. So seeing people argue and name-call with the complete lack of any sort of rationality or reasoning, regardless of where on the spectrum their personal beliefs are even if and especially if they're in line with mine, is just so infuriating. It got too much so I cut myself off from most social media entirely (for now) for my own mental well-being.

[Urethra Franklin]

I work in sports media and need to use Twitter for work since that's where news breaks these days, but I only use it at work. I deleted it from my phone.

There are some accounts that I follow that I find are really funny and I enjoy Weird Twitter, but man, the hyperbole kills me. Every day something else is the worst thing ever and it gets me down. I don't need to see that shit when I don't have to.

[Gus Richlen: Ruffian]

I only go on Twitter during UFC events anymore. It's just become too damned unpleasant the last couple of years, and my life is too short for that kind of negativity.

[hashtagdaley/JudasDay]

I love Twitter. Follow the good guys, ignore the bad guys. I've honestly never come across the boatloads of negativity doing my usual browsing. I'd have to go out of my way to find the morons.

[Zone Was Wrong]

My twitter is mostly comedians, reviewers (Linkara, Brad Jones), LOTS of sports people, and various tv and movie people who are not crazy. Only time I've encountered crazy is if Spoony goes on a rant (lol), or if I respond to the wrong persons tweet and someone responds hatefully. In response to that I put the person on ignore after sending a childish message back because I'm immature like that

[ShaolinHandLock]

Mar 27, 2017 10:27:11 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

Seriously, f*** that site or app or whatever you want to call it and f*** the toxic, nauseating behaviour it cultivates. I was hoping that site would be a good way to stay up to date with YouTubers and artists I like but all I ever seem to see from it is barrage of impotent, aimless anger from people who want the glamour of a cause without having to commit to it, which that site of course facilitates by specifically being designed to prevent any constructive decision since the character limit means nothing but hollow slogans can be posted.

From the bigoted morons who act like having any respect for social justice and admitting that efforts need to be made means that you're trying to censor all thought, to the pedantic moral guardians who appropriate issues they clearly understand nothing about, make it about themselves and publicly insult anyone who deviates even slightly from their personal moral code, all the while hypocritically accusing everyone else of "cultural appropriation" and "whatever shaming". It seems no-one has even a shred of sense of perspective or is capable of independent thought, only seeing and believing in absurd extremes, being only interested in regurgitating pre-chewed rhetoric so they don't have to tire themselves by actually thinking about the thing they claim to be oh-so passionate about, only doing whatever they think will impress their preferred circle-jerk.

And because these people are incapable of thinking for themselves, they of course cannot comprehend the concept of other people having independent, moderate thought. Oh no! If someone disagrees with any detail of their ridiculous extreme, then they must agree with everything the opposite extreme stands for! No middle ground exists. You REALLY want to break the internet? Don't show them asses, people can find those anywhere on the Internet. Show them this: "I think Anita Sarkeesian is ignorant but I also believe she is harmless and should therefore be allowed to speak her mind without being persecuted for it".

And that's where it gets downright dangerous. This constant denial of individuality, if not humanity, is actually harmful, especially as it eventually bleeds into the real world. And that's what makes Twitter worse than any other similar place. It's not like I just discovered that a lot of people act like dicks on the Internet, but Twitter normalises this behaviour and slowly makes people think it's acceptable to treat those who disagree with them like an enemy that must be destroyed. Because after all, they don't disagree with you as a person, they disagree with you because represent everything that's good and right in the World. It's all about you, baby! You're not just defending morals, you ARE the morals. And those who who treat you with anything short of blind praise are actively trying to ruin everything you stand for! It's not enough to disagree with people, it's not enough to beat them, you must ruin their reputation, humiliate them publicly, destroy their lives, and then gloat about it.

And don't you dare think you're allowed to not choose one extreme. You're either an SJW, or an MRA, or some sort of extreme. You're not allowed to have your own thought, you must just bow down to your side's pre-established opinions. And if you refuse to pick a side, then you will be assigned one because hey, who are you to think you know your opinions?

Oh and don't go around thinking you're allowed to give the opposing side any credit either, because then you're a traitor and must be eliminated. Because morals aren't about ideals and trying to do what's best for everyone, it's about sides and proving that yours is right. Actually scratch that, it's about making your side win, who cares about right or wrong?

You know those dystopian stories where people no longer interact with one-another and just communicate through screens with no emotion, no attachment? I usually find those really silly and alarmist, but Twitter is certainly a step in this direction, with people acting like treating someone you don't see eye-to-eye with as a human being is considered morally wrong and actively trying to make you either forget that those are actual lives you're ruining or become okay with it.

And yeah, I know there's stuff like that on all "social" media sites but on most of them, it really is a minority. A very vocal one, but a minority nonetheless. Twitter is the only one where I find this genuine level of hate and cult-like mentality. F***'s sake, people make jokes about Tumblr but you know what? There people at least try to develop a point and to communicate with others and debate them. And at the very least it's fairly easy to avoid the truly toxic people. On Twitter, even if you actively try to avoid them, they will find you, and they will let you know you're the scum of the Earth for not dropping to your knees and praising your moral saviours.

So if you're going to use Twitter, I guess stick to astronauts, non-political/religious novelty accounts and Andrew WK.

THANK YOU. I've been wanting to make a thread similar to this for the last couple of days, but I couldn't put my thoughts together without getting political, so I didn't bother.

I too am completely SICK of the extremes, the 'having to pick a side', and the whole 'if you don't completely agree/disagree with something, you're a horrible person'. I've seen it lately from a couple of people I've followed on Twitter for YEARS. They used to be nice people, but now they're attacking anyone who doesn't completely agree with their opinions or views, and it's been driving me insane, especially considering that one of these people pretty much said that anyone who has a 'certain opinion/view which I can't post here because politics' is an idiot. And as someone who actually agrees with the views they were calling idiotic, it saddens me that someone I've followed for so long is pretty much calling ME an idiot...and it gets even worse than that, but because of the rules of the forum I'll leave it there.

And that's only one example...thankfully though, the vast majority of people I follow on Twitter (mostly artists and YouTubers) are nice people who never get toxic in any way. I like Twitter, but whenever the toxic stuff does happen, it sucks the fun out of it.

Generally though, I agree. I'm sick of people on ALL 'sides', regardless of their opinions or views, being so extreme and ready to attack people who don't share their beliefs. Basically all I'm saying is that people on Twitter (and the internet as a whole) need to be less toxic to each other, and if they do end up not approving of, or being offended by someones views, instead of flying off the handle and attacking the person, just stay calm and don't go crazy.

On a final sidenote, on your Anita Sarkeesian comment, I once posted pretty much the same thing on an internet forum years ago (because what you posted is pretty much my opinion of her) and I still got crap for it.

[Deleted]

I left Twitter a couple of years ago.

This year, I left Facebook.

I have unpopular opinions, and it seems the majority has become downright hostile, like to the point where if you go against anything they say or at least try to educate them, they will go out of their f***ing way to make your life a living hell as well as try to let everyone think you're the worst person on earth and need to be crucified, tortured, burned at the stake etc. (Bonus points if they say that they're "against" those actions as well). No agreeing to disagree and move on, OH NO, you need to be wiped from the face of the earth and publicly shamed, all because you said something they don't agree with. And then they act all smug like they have the superior intellect and they did some good for the world.

I'd have to chalk this type of behavior up to bad parenting as well. I firmly believe some of these people as kids did the "screaming and yelling until you get what you want" routine and unfortunately it worked, so now they think they can get away with it in their later life as long as it's in the form of "social justice" or whatever other agenda they're backing these days.

[Lupin the Third]

I've had the inkling to join Twitter, but I've seen the sheer amount of stupidity on there. And since I've seen enough crap on FB, I figure Twitter is something I don't need that badly.

Plus I've always felt it's a FB status, but on its own.

[Dub H]

Mar 27, 2017 15:29:38 GMT -5 GuyOfOwnage said:

Mar 27, 2017 12:45:02 GMT -5 lionheart21 said:

The general anonymity of it means that people can pretty much show their darker side and basically just be total assholes without fear of repercussions.

I used to think it was the anonymity thing too, but then I saw people on Facebook, using their real names, no less, acting exactly the same way. It's a platform where most of their vital information is right there for the world to see, and they still don't give a f***.

In fact, I'd say most forms of social media give me a whole new appreciation for how tightly moderated this place is.

You still have the behind screen component, and that there won't be any repercusions.

[Confused Mark Wahlberg]

Social media has made me hate people I AGREE with.

That's quite a feat.

["Trickster Dogg" James Jesse]

It's fascinating how hating social media itself has become another mechanism within the Two Minute Hate.

[simplydurhamcalling]

Mar 27, 2017 16:08:46 GMT -5 Raskovnik said:

Social media is more of a curse than a blessing, I think. People suck overall, IMO. Giving everyone a platform to suck out loud and find other people who suck just as much as them so they can congregate and get even louder was a mistake. I think it's been ultimately detrimental to our society and culture because the bad people do outweighs the good. It's absolutely insane to me, for example, that it's just accepted that people leave vile comments on YouTube, or Twitter, or Facebook, etc. Like it's as natural as gravity. And maybe that is the case. You have the sum of all human knowledge at your fingertips, you can learn whatever you want and have real power to better yourself through this invention, and so many people just use it to shitpost or harass people they've never even met over things that don't even matter in ways that have very real repercussions. Then the shit from there spills out onto forums like this one and even real life. It's just not worth it to me. I'm sure someone will say "well good thing you aren't in charge, then!" Well, no duh.


It also leads to misinformation spreading like wildfire so now we live in this Twilight Zone world where the truth plain doesn't matter, if it ever did, and now we've got a split-screen reality. It wasn't like that before social media came along. Certainly not to this degree. If I could pinpoint the one moment everything went downhill, it's when everyone was able to get a smartphone with Internet access. Yikes.

All of this has contributed to me seriously minimizing my Internet time. This is the only forum I visit anymore because the moderating is A+ and if you suck odds are you won't be here very long. Even at that, I still consider deactivating my account every so often because there are flashes of the shit I see everywhere else that drives me crazy as a sober reminder of how thoroughly some BS has infiltrated the public consciousness. The more things progress the less I feel comfortable anywhere. I get it, that's on me, but it doesn't change how I feel. I recognize that I started talking about one thing and it led into another but it's been on my mind for a while. Even if things do eventually get better, I don't see it happening in my lifetime.

I can't like this post enough and I think you would be surprised at the amount of people that agree with you. Also to those saying you can filter it down so you only see what you want to see, that presents problems of it's own with the creation of a social media bubble.

[Crimson]

Mar 27, 2017 13:05:56 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

Mar 27, 2017 11:10:26 GMT -5 The Heartbreak TWERK said:

Tumblr is full of people who take social justice and turn it into a parody. If there's a reason why people who actually are trying to work for social justices are treated like jokes, it's because of people on Tumblr.

Maybe I've just been lucky but in my experience, it's really not the case. I've actually met several really fun and talented people there despite only joining a few months back. Most people are chill and as long as you don't go out of your way to get involved in shouting matches, you can ignore them easily whereas on Twitter, it comes from every direction no matter how hard I try to avoid it. I know it's not on Tumblr that I've been told that I deserve to die of testicular explosion for being a cis man and that I was an awful person for not being impressed with absurd stereotyping.

PRetty much been my experience as well. I use tumblr for following artists and people in the comic and animation industry I like, and shitposting about fandoms I'm in.

[Gerard Gerard]

Twitter is just one long stream of that one guy who never finishes a thought before moving onto the next.

[Welfare Willis]

Mar 27, 2017 10:27:11 GMT -5 SsnakeBite, the No1 Frenchman said:

Seriously, f*** that site or app or whatever you want to call it and f*** the toxic, nauseating behaviour it cultivates. I was hoping that site would be a good way to stay up to date with YouTubers and artists I like but all I ever seem to see from it is barrage of impotent, aimless anger from people who want the glamour of a cause without having to commit to it, which that site of course facilitates by specifically being designed to prevent any constructive decision since the character limit means nothing but hollow slogans can be posted.

From the bigoted morons who act like having any respect for social justice and admitting that efforts need to be made means that you're trying to censor all thought, to the pedantic moral guardians who appropriate issues they clearly understand nothing about, make it about themselves and publicly insult anyone who deviates even slightly from their personal moral code, all the while hypocritically accusing everyone else of "cultural appropriation" and "whatever shaming". It seems no-one has even a shred of sense of perspective or is capable of independent thought, only seeing and believing in absurd extremes, being only interested in regurgitating pre-chewed rhetoric so they don't have to tire themselves by actually thinking about the thing they claim to be oh-so passionate about, only doing whatever they think will impress their preferred circle-jerk.

And because these people are incapable of thinking for themselves, they of course cannot comprehend the concept of other people having independent, moderate thought. Oh no! If someone disagrees with any detail of their ridiculous extreme, then they must agree with everything the opposite extreme stands for! No middle ground exists. You REALLY want to break the internet? Don't show them asses, people can find those anywhere on the Internet. Show them this: "I think Anita Sarkeesian is ignorant but I also believe she is harmless and should therefore be allowed to speak her mind without being persecuted for it".

And that's where it gets downright dangerous. This constant denial of individuality, if not humanity, is actually harmful, especially as it eventually bleeds into the real world. And that's what makes Twitter worse than any other similar place. It's not like I just discovered that a lot of people act like dicks on the Internet, but Twitter normalises this behaviour and slowly makes people think it's acceptable to treat those who disagree with them like an enemy that must be destroyed. Because after all, they don't disagree with you as a person, they disagree with you because represent everything that's good and right in the World. It's all about you, baby! You're not just defending morals, you ARE the morals. And those who who treat you with anything short of blind praise are actively trying to ruin everything you stand for! It's not enough to disagree with people, it's not enough to beat them, you must ruin their reputation, humiliate them publicly, destroy their lives, and then gloat about it.

And don't you dare think you're allowed to not choose one extreme. You're either an SJW, or an MRA, or some sort of extreme. You're not allowed to have your own thought, you must just bow down to your side's pre-established opinions. And if you refuse to pick a side, then you will be assigned one because hey, who are you to think you know your opinions?

Oh and don't go around thinking you're allowed to give the opposing side any credit either, because then you're a traitor and must be eliminated. Because morals aren't about ideals and trying to do what's best for everyone, it's about sides and proving that yours is right. Actually scratch that, it's about making your side win, who cares about right or wrong?

You know those dystopian stories where people no longer interact with one-another and just communicate through screens with no emotion, no attachment? I usually find those really silly and alarmist, but Twitter is certainly a step in this direction, with people acting like treating someone you don't see eye-to-eye with as a human being is considered morally wrong and actively trying to make you either forget that those are actual lives you're ruining or become okay with it.

And yeah, I know there's stuff like that on all "social" media sites but on most of them, it really is a minority. A very vocal one, but a minority nonetheless. Twitter is the only one where I find this genuine level of hate and cult-like mentality. F***'s sake, people make jokes about Tumblr but you know what? There people at least try to develop a point and to communicate with others and debate them. And at the very least it's fairly easy to avoid the truly toxic people. On Twitter, even if you actively try to avoid them, they will find you, and they will let you know you're the scum of the Earth for not dropping to your knees and praising your moral saviours.

So if you're going to use Twitter, I guess stick to astronauts, non-political/religious novelty accounts and Andrew WK.

Agreed.