(As I was thinking this through I realized that I have some strong feelings on the subject. I don't have any hard data here. This is all anecdotal. Please note that I don't think less of anyone for using Twitter, these are just my thoughts on the service overall)

I've noticed a lot of people favoring Twitter over art sites lately and occasionally I feel the urge to follow. While it would surely be good for networking and for my 'brand' I just can't condone it. At no point did I like the idea of Twitter, but I admit it was fun and convenient to use at first. I loved being able to follow my favorite comic book people, artists, musicians, etc. But over time I found it making me anxious and bitter. I couldn't understand why at the time. Eventually I just didn't want to bother with it anymore so I bailed.

The main thing that disgusts me about Twitter is how it strips back almost every feature of social media in favor of 'the feed' and the dopamine it can produce. Social media is a really powerful tool. It's a great idea in theory. You can connect with basically anyone you've ever known, meet employers, date, whatever. But it lends itself very well to abuse. I think the human brain is still learning to live with this internet thing. And when you can put up some pictures, or post a hot take and get those succulent 'LIKES' and 'FOLLOWS' I think our ape brains just eat that shit up. Twitter, with its character restrictions and feed layout is probably the easiest one to get addicted to because there's no chaff. If you go on Tumblr or Facebook at least you can make longer, thought-out blog posts, picture arrangements, events, and such. Twitter cuts all that away for the pure hit.

As a result of all that I find Twitter to be truly toxic (to use a term I hate). I don't think it's a complete cesspit, let me be clear. There is plenty of benign interaction. But as I said before the service encourages a cynical 'get likes' mentality. Discussion often isn't about discussion. It's about landing that one hot gotcha or one-liner that gets a windfall of supply (Likes and Followers). Politics on Twitter is a maw of chaos with people on both sides launching pithy quips. There's no actual communication happening between peopleand the service doesn't lend itself to measured, thoughtful responses. The feed is always moving after all.

Well, that's how I feel anyway. Maybe I'll look into the science on this. In any case that's why I don't support Twitter despite the good it would assuredly do my 'brand.'

What do you think?