Lately I have found myself becoming increasingly distracted and anxious. I settle down to write with Facebook and Twitter minimised yet at every little ping and beep I click them back on to full screen and… well, I’m sure you can imagine. During an election campaign as close and nasty as this one is those pings and beeps happen with alarming frequency and, afraid at missing something, I check the tweet, make sure of the source, follow the link, read the link, go back to the source, favourite, like and/or make a comment, retweet (sorry folks), and sometimes send a reply or message to the person or group who sent the tweet in the first place, settle back down to write and ping… Aargh! Off I go again. I only signed up to Twitter because I thought it would help get ‘A Pootler’, a new project and a different style of writing for me, an audience. It has, and I’ve got some nice, supportive and interesting people following me – thank you! – and found lots to follow in turn. I’ve also managed to strike up the occasional tweet or two with people I admire or support, and found some of my tweets and blog posts ‘favorited’ (forgive the Americanisation, that’s what Twitter call it) or retweeted by those very same people which is a real ego-boost. It’s amazing. But I don’t like it. But I do. Except it’s too distracting. So I don’t. Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps it’s the novelty of the thing, I don’t have the same problem with Facebook (except I now share my tweets and retweets on the Pootler page, then share again on my personal page. I must be, no I am definitely, so bloody annoying). I’ve also found that I suddenly find myself so distracted that I have difficulty getting settled back into what I’ve been working on, or simply stop altogether. Last weekend I ended up writing something really unfocussed as a result of numerous distractions, I posted it, it’s a piece that I’m not very proud of as I think lacks conviction and isn’t really my voice. That’ll teach me. I’ve found myself having the same problem over the past couple of days – I have a subject I so very much want to write about but it has to be done justice. At least I’ve learned from my mistake and put it aside.
The main thing I really do loath about Twitter, and something I hadn’t truly appreciated until using it, is the sheer rudeness and nastiness with which some people conduct themselves. And the trolls. Oh the trolls. I believe in freedom of speech but not when it is a bullying, vitriolic rant which sadly seems to be the stock response of some who disagree with a point of view. I also can’t understand how or why people take pleasure in spouting hatred and issuing threats, especially on something called ‘social media’. I’ve been trolled a couple of times by homophobes and right-wing hatemongers, I blocked and reported them. Simple. If I misinterpreted their comments due to oversensitivity Twitter will see that, but if they are harmful spreaders of bile I’m sure Twitter will deal with. Either way I hope not to have them bother me gain. If I come across something I disagree with I move on, I don’t allow myself to be drawn in and get increasingly agitated. If I see or hear racist, sexist, homophobic or other form or hateful bigotry I will voice my opinion without lowering myself to the level of the offender and will report it. I’m lucky though, I feel fairly safe as I’m not in the public eye and fairly anonymous. I have, however, seen some of the vile things that trolls have tweeted to public figures and it is truly shocking, I cannot understand how someone could do it. Some commentators and experts believe that it’s the anonymity that makes it possible, others that it’s the fact that as the communication is via a screen and keypad the troll doesn’t see it as real. That might be so in a majority of cases but it doesn’t make it any more pleasant or acceptable, and what about the minority of cases where something far more dangerous is intended? Let’s hope I’m just being overanxious.
For the moment I’m going to persevere with Twitter and will attempt to moderate my use, I want my blog to succeed and I’m sure I’ll soon re-establish my self-control where concentrating on my writing is concerned… Ooh, a ping…
Philip Green, Blogging & Writing. 