Good luck taking a break from the coke-loving stripper girlfriend with borderline personality disorder that is Twitter!
Just remember: no matter what happens with her car, kids, mother or probation officer in the days and weeks ahead you can’t swoop in and make things right.
If I might try to summarize the thesis, "social networks" (of college friends with whom you share cat and baby pictures) devolved into "social media" (where you shout at the Algorithm and try to be/not be the main character every day) sometime in the 2010ish timeframe, and now everything is loud, dumb, and terrible. Unplug it.
I'm probably an outlier among BARPod subscribers in that I gave up my smart phone and don't use any social media. The change in both my quality of life and mental state is huge. I hope you experience some of that, even as your work might make disconnecting difficult.
I do sometimes wonder why I listen so faithfully to a podcast that defaults to discussing twitter weirdness, but it's a testament to you and Katie that I do.
Every day for years now we've all seen the "social media causes mental illness" headlines and everyone just keeps scrolling.
Are we going to do this forever?
I got off of Twitter over a year ago and feel good about it. I don't feel as good as I did in the period ten years ago after getting rid of Facebook but before getting onto Twitter. Because Twitter is still everywhere. In addition to still constantly having unhinged Tweets shown to me one way or another, it's very clear that the people running the show in the media and politics are still addled by it. It's bonkers that outside of a handful of conservative politicians who maybe aren't even operating in good faith, no one in a position of power is doing anything about this? Why is no one fixing this? Everyone has lost their minds.
If you ever feel tempted to login again, let me know, and I’ll be happy to yell at you for literally murdering children and being worse than Hitler, Stalin, and J. K. Rowling combined.
I think the mental health gains will make up for any platform losses, honestly. I will genuinely miss your contributions to Twitter from a spectator's perspective, because you're one of the only people who can argue effectively with the losers on there--but the (many) contributions you make elsewhere are more worth your time, and frankly, they're also *more worth our time* as fans! I think your disconnecting from it will lead to more, and better, work than you could have done while still plugged in, and I look forward to reading it / listening to it / beaming it into my skull *anywhere but on Twitter*.
Just don't waste any time engaging with Amanda Marcotte. She has been the dumbest person on the internet for 15 straight years. Everyone knows this. It isn't worth it.
Jordan Peterson is a smart guy. He is a psychologist, knowledgeable about a lot of topics. So, why is HE also an ass on Twitter?
Twitter promotes the worst possible responses. Rather than a thoughtful consideration of the issue, Twitter promotes a short message in which a quick reaction to some idiocy from some moron is the name of the game.
Now that Twitter has been Musk-ified, it promotes even more toxic behavior, since fewer tweets are censored.
When Sam Harris quit, his reasons made sense to me and then he seemed happy to be off the platform. So, I also deactivated my account. It has been several months now and I don’t miss it, BUT my Substack subscriptions have expanded and I rely on these threads to fill the void. It can still cause some preoccupation but isn’t nearly as toxic.
I've been hoping you would do this. I understand why you get sucked into these Twitter battles, but that's because I've been following your work for 6 years and am already convinced of the quality of your journalism and your personal integrity.
If I had no context, though, your Twitter presence would be a big turnoff. The intensity of your engagement isn't helpful or illuminating. I'm sure that if I knew nothing else about you, it would color my view of any articles with your byline. I'm sure it's a mixed bag, professionally.
I've been meaning to send an email for years telling you how much of an impact your work has had on my life--and I will, one of these days. It's your in-depth reporting that has made a difference for me. I read all of your articles, but mostly ignore your Twitter and podcast (I find the culture war stuff initially diverting, but ultimately distracting & depressing). I bought your book and recently started supporting your Substack.
Most importantly, if you come up with other ways for your audience to support your more in-depth reporting, I'm in.
For the past few years I've been giving up Twitter, social media, etc for Lent and for some reason this year it's felt more liberating than ever. To the point where I'm thinking of just giving up Twitter altogether. Plus I'm just way more productive in every aspect of life when I'm not thinking about the stupid shit being posted on Twitter.
I deleted my Twitter account in 2018. But I've browsed and lurked on the site for years.
That's another key problem: my stupid addiction got "smart" and tried other ways to give me a fix.
Don't do what I did. When you quit Twitter, quit it for good. Don't lurk. Don't stalk. Just walk away and don't look back at the explosion in the background.
Good luck taking a break from the coke-loving stripper girlfriend with borderline personality disorder that is Twitter!
Just remember: no matter what happens with her car, kids, mother or probation officer in the days and weeks ahead you can’t swoop in and make things right.
Stay strong.
"I left Twitter and then my quality of life got worse", said no one ever.
I recommend anyone and everyone read Ian Bogost's "The Age of Social Media Is Ending", which ran in the Atlantic a few months ago,
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/11/twitter-facebook-social-media-decline/672074/
If I might try to summarize the thesis, "social networks" (of college friends with whom you share cat and baby pictures) devolved into "social media" (where you shout at the Algorithm and try to be/not be the main character every day) sometime in the 2010ish timeframe, and now everything is loud, dumb, and terrible. Unplug it.
I'm probably an outlier among BARPod subscribers in that I gave up my smart phone and don't use any social media. The change in both my quality of life and mental state is huge. I hope you experience some of that, even as your work might make disconnecting difficult.
I do sometimes wonder why I listen so faithfully to a podcast that defaults to discussing twitter weirdness, but it's a testament to you and Katie that I do.
Every day for years now we've all seen the "social media causes mental illness" headlines and everyone just keeps scrolling.
Are we going to do this forever?
I got off of Twitter over a year ago and feel good about it. I don't feel as good as I did in the period ten years ago after getting rid of Facebook but before getting onto Twitter. Because Twitter is still everywhere. In addition to still constantly having unhinged Tweets shown to me one way or another, it's very clear that the people running the show in the media and politics are still addled by it. It's bonkers that outside of a handful of conservative politicians who maybe aren't even operating in good faith, no one in a position of power is doing anything about this? Why is no one fixing this? Everyone has lost their minds.
If you ever feel tempted to login again, let me know, and I’ll be happy to yell at you for literally murdering children and being worse than Hitler, Stalin, and J. K. Rowling combined.
I think the mental health gains will make up for any platform losses, honestly. I will genuinely miss your contributions to Twitter from a spectator's perspective, because you're one of the only people who can argue effectively with the losers on there--but the (many) contributions you make elsewhere are more worth your time, and frankly, they're also *more worth our time* as fans! I think your disconnecting from it will lead to more, and better, work than you could have done while still plugged in, and I look forward to reading it / listening to it / beaming it into my skull *anywhere but on Twitter*.
Just don't waste any time engaging with Amanda Marcotte. She has been the dumbest person on the internet for 15 straight years. Everyone knows this. It isn't worth it.
Jordan Peterson is a smart guy. He is a psychologist, knowledgeable about a lot of topics. So, why is HE also an ass on Twitter?
Twitter promotes the worst possible responses. Rather than a thoughtful consideration of the issue, Twitter promotes a short message in which a quick reaction to some idiocy from some moron is the name of the game.
Now that Twitter has been Musk-ified, it promotes even more toxic behavior, since fewer tweets are censored.
When Sam Harris quit, his reasons made sense to me and then he seemed happy to be off the platform. So, I also deactivated my account. It has been several months now and I don’t miss it, BUT my Substack subscriptions have expanded and I rely on these threads to fill the void. It can still cause some preoccupation but isn’t nearly as toxic.
I've been hoping you would do this. I understand why you get sucked into these Twitter battles, but that's because I've been following your work for 6 years and am already convinced of the quality of your journalism and your personal integrity.
If I had no context, though, your Twitter presence would be a big turnoff. The intensity of your engagement isn't helpful or illuminating. I'm sure that if I knew nothing else about you, it would color my view of any articles with your byline. I'm sure it's a mixed bag, professionally.
I've been meaning to send an email for years telling you how much of an impact your work has had on my life--and I will, one of these days. It's your in-depth reporting that has made a difference for me. I read all of your articles, but mostly ignore your Twitter and podcast (I find the culture war stuff initially diverting, but ultimately distracting & depressing). I bought your book and recently started supporting your Substack.
Most importantly, if you come up with other ways for your audience to support your more in-depth reporting, I'm in.
To make sure you stay off Twitter, read Jonathan Haidt and then imagine you're a prepubescent girl.
Um, somehow that came out sounding sketchy...
For the past few years I've been giving up Twitter, social media, etc for Lent and for some reason this year it's felt more liberating than ever. To the point where I'm thinking of just giving up Twitter altogether. Plus I'm just way more productive in every aspect of life when I'm not thinking about the stupid shit being posted on Twitter.
Makes sense. And Substack is a far better medium for ideas, analysis, and discussion.
No one on his deathbed, reflecting back on his life, will ever say "I wish I'd spent more time on Twitter."
I deleted my Twitter account in 2018. But I've browsed and lurked on the site for years.
That's another key problem: my stupid addiction got "smart" and tried other ways to give me a fix.
Don't do what I did. When you quit Twitter, quit it for good. Don't lurk. Don't stalk. Just walk away and don't look back at the explosion in the background.