Goodbye Twitter (Maybe), we hardly knew ya
Looking back on the world's biggest collective parasocial relationship as it ventures into a shaky future
Social media is not one of the great wonders of the world, but I really feel like it should be. A troubled wild west of good ideas and bad intentions brought to heel like most things online by hedge fund greed and a reluctance to accept moral responsibility for what actually happens on the platforms that pay for your next yacht.
In recent years Twitter in particular has been a rotten bastion for perhaps the worst minds to congregate and self congratulate in the absence of common sense. But it's not been all bad news, and perhaps that's the sharpest sting of them all. Now that it's being dragged to it's knees by the world's most embarrassing idiot, I don’t feel a sense of relief, but rather loss. And I know i’m not the only one.
In spite of Apartheid Clive's worst intentions, the social media network we often colloquially call ‘The Hell Site’ has been a proving ground for some phenomenally enriching moments. As a means of reaching out and connecting people across the globe, it’s unmatched.
Where else have we been able to experience big international events (including multiple crises) in real time, often cutting through the bullshit opera being flung at us by official 'sources', even if we do still have to take these more organic accounts with a pinch of salt. We know more about other places and what goes on in them because of this boon of connectivity. We’re able to single in on acts of disaster and provide relief more efficiently by being kept in the loop.
There is also a less drastic side to this coin. I have learned so much in my time on this site simply from being exposed to people different from me, those willing to share their cultural ideals and history and those brave enough to explore their own personal relationship with the world so openly. In turn I now know more about myself through this process of learning and self reflection. I won’t go so far as to say that it made me a better person but it certainly made it easier to access the tools to facilitate such a metamorphosis. Some argue the dangers of the echo chamber, but I’ve found the opposite to be true. Every day I read something that changes my perspective on life just a little bit. I also read a lot of abject stupidity, for balance, even if I so desperately try to avoid it.
Beyond anything else Twitter as a format has had a staying power that trumps any other network I have attempted to engage with. I hate group chats; discord sucks to high heaven for folk like me who have trouble navigating oceans of text; Instagram isn't for the goblin folk; Facebook is a cognitive nightmare to navigate. What sold me on this platform was the ability to throw shit out into the ether and not worry too much if the void screamed back. There was always something fascinating or cool or blindingly funny to read on there.
Connections, as rare as they can be, were forged over things as innocuous as a retweet. I made friends here. Honest to god real life friends. I’ve even met a few of them in the flesh. These bonds weren’t always forever, mind you. Over the years I’ve shared intimate thoughts and moments of camaraderie with folk I don’t even know anymore.
That’s the thing they don’t tell you about the fall of Rome, people can leave whenever they want, and they often do. And you can’t be angry or even sad about it because those interpersonal attractions were never infinite. Those who will always have a place in my heart I cannot mourn because they are still out there, living their lives more privately, less exposed to the poisonous cost of all this. Still I remain grateful for the opportunity to have known them even for a little while.
As a platform for friendship, for expressing ideas, selling wares, sharing art and thoughtful prose and even a bad taste joke or two, there was always an abundance of ways to engage with this creature in a positive manner. And that excess has unfortunately become its biggest burden.
A site this big and this complex needed a firm, intelligent hand, a comprehensive team of moderators and above all else, a collective conscience, and it’s never really had any of these things, or at least not enough to tackle the issues it’s faced for years. Before, it was run by a swamp-water swilling sociopath who didn't give a fuck about the alt-right time bomb he was allowing to cook under all our feet. Now it's helmed by a cruel meme-chugging dumbass who doesn't know the first thing about running a business despite being the CEO of three.
It is perhaps an unwinnable situation. These things are built on the foundation of false economies, and good people rarely make for good business. Burdened by a need to exist within this attention-based fiscal framework, doomed to ever rot for that very same reason, Twitter has ended up becoming a corpse walking slowly towards a precipice, only now it's limbs are starting to come loose and we will no doubt fail to reach that last edifying crash into the ocean. While maybe not necessarily in the here and now, like all things it will eventually come to an end, not with a bang, but a whimper.