My Return to the Twitterverse

Several weeks ago, I decided to quit using Twitter for an indeterminate amount of time. However, after a couple weeks off the platform, I couldn't help but continue to use it—with one new rule in-place: I would not hesitate to mute (or, if needed, outright block) anyone that worsened my experience.

(I used to keep a rule about giving people a warning about "meaningfully contributing to the conversation" before muting them, out of fear of tyrannically blocking one's Freedom of Speech…but I no longer bother. I just make sure I'm muting/blocking for the right reasons, as opposed to just making them "shut up" because I disagree with them.)

Since returning to Twitter with my "no jerks" policy, the platform has been far more tolerable: conversations with trolls are cut off at the ankle, and anyone who acts like a jerk and is muted now knows why without me having to spell it out every time. (I'm sure I'll exercise clemency and "mass-unmute" people at some point, but I have no plans to do so right now.)

Most importantly, the people that don't end up muted are much more likely to reappear in my feed—presumably because I interacted with them without muting and Twitter is now trained to recognize that as a sign that I find someone tolerable. This results in me actually pseudo-knowing people I've only met on Twitter—a concept I would have thought next-to-impossible before, when I was spending so much time "troll-swatting."

So, I guess the moral of the story is not to be afraid of using the tools the platforms have provided us to improve our own experience on said platforms. Just remember that with any power comes some responsibility, and if you mute/block folks simply because you disagree with them, you're only making yourself a less informed—and, by definition, more ignorant—person. On the other hand, if you manage to "cut through the noise" and have meaningful conversations with people, including those with whom you don't necessarily agree, you'll find yourself become a much more informed, enlightened, well-rounded individual.

Recognizing differences among our points-of-view and understanding why someone feels so strongly about an issue is the first step to healing the wounds of a fragmented society.