Why I got off Twitter, and why Meta might be next
It took me too long, but Twitter is a toxic place, and it was confirmed by Elon Musk’s salute to Hitler.
On some of my professional bios, including my author bio on my publisher’s page, I proudly proclaim that I spent “too much time on Twitter.” Twitter has been a fun place for me over the years. I’ve also learned a lot navigating that “microblogging” website. And actually gained some followers over the years—especially during the Jesus Takes A Side time. I’ve also used it to express myself and my feelings, for better or regrettably for worse.
When Elon Musk took over the platform, I got a little sick to my stomach, but I braved the haphazard and problematic takeover of the website, and I carried on using it. But when Musk, unmistakably and without question, saluted Hitler, it felt too icky to stay on. After all, even subreddits banned Twitter as a platform. I felt badly even being beyond the free-speech bastion known as Reddit.
There’s really no pure virtue or importance to being on social media, so cutting ties off of one platform was hardly a sacrifice or a brave effort. In fact, if you aren’t on social media, you’re probably primarily missing rage bait and doom scrolling, so it’s hard to make a recommendation to join.
It’s hard to imagine Jesus joining social media platforms—he didn’t even write anything he said down on paper. The Apostle Paul might, but he’d surely be the first to call out Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
But despite this, social media is also a place to find likeminded friends, learn new ideas, expose yourself to diverse people groups, and in fact, challenge what you grew up thinking or were indoctrinated into believing by whatever forces you may have been susceptible to. My whole worldview has been expanded because of my mutuals on Twitter. I’ve learned more about Philadelphia, the United States, Christianity, and even home cooking because of it.
Aside from an endless array of memes that are sure to bring you joy, one of the greatest joys of my social media experience has been meeting and relating to a group of former strangers that have become friends. I’ve met many of them in person at this point, and even stayed in their homes. Our friend group initially related on the aforementioned Reddit, but migrated to an extensive Facebook ecosystem using both the platform and its messaging companion. But after Mark Zuckerberg decided to end fact-checking on his website, in favor of community notes (a la Twitter), and would relax the rules on racism and transphobia, my friends decided they were fed up, and we effectively migrated to a now-bustling Discord server. I appreciated their flexibility and nimbleness. We proved that you don’t need a potentially harmful social media service to stay connected to one another.
Similarly, one reason I stayed on Twitter was to talk about sports with a crew of friends across the country. Knowing that I’d sacrifice a connection with them, I wondered if we could just move to text messaging. They agreed and we’ve been talking about the NFC and AFC Championships since.
The point I want to emphasize is not that I have wonderful friends who want to care for the most vulnerable, but that they didn’t sacrifice connection in order to stop platforming bigoted people who follow the lead of Donald Trump. Maybe my subscription to Jeff Bezos’s Washington Post will be next.
Even without these alternatives, though, perhaps getting rid of social media presents new options for us to relate to one another via something other than a screen. Perhaps you can meet some new friends at a café, or in the park, or at a protest or rally. Though I think their point is far overstated, social media has undoubtedly made it harder for us to talk to one another and even carry on regular conversations. Picking up the phone is even a challenge at times. These platforms are powerful, and to suggest that they won’t influence us seems rather arrogant.
The value of being on social media is clear, and I intend to stay on certain platforms until better alternatives form. But if we never even debate whether they are a good thing to be on, if it’s just a forgone conclusion that you can find us on Instagram or TikTok, then I think the people monopolizing our social lives have won. Their win comes with great power to influence public policy.
Zuckerberg argued that he changed the rules of Meta in order to accommodate mainstream talking points about immigrants and queer people. While he will certainly do whatever he can for his next dollar, multiple reports suggest it is a return to his libertarian form (if you recall, he developed the platform so that he might stalk women at his college).
Free speech apologists may argue that they are doing their part giving people a voice, but their laissez-faire attitude in fact allows these ideas to be spread and to propagate it. They’d be better off in front of God if they took a stand against wickedness. And the world would also benefit.
I post my blogs on social media, articles I’ve written, and Mennonite Actions’ new podcast (which I am honored to co-host) on social media. I also use it to do my part in social discourse, even in the small ponds where I find influence. So in seeing the value in social media, I hope smart teams keep developing safer and better alternatives for us to talk to our families, read the news, and relate to one another.
I hope I can continue to meet new people across the country and around the world using the Internet. I hope I can stay updated on the ground in places like Palestine and areas in the U.S. where ICE raids are bound to happen. Social media was an incredibly valuable force for change in the Middle East during the Arab Spring, and it remains an excellent organizing tool (with limits, of course, which is why many of my organizing and activist friends have adopted Signal, a wall-to-wall encrypted messaging platform).
Despite how it spreads misinformation, reinforces our bigotry and prejudice, and fuels our anger, I still think there is value to being on social media. But with an abundance of options, there’s no need to let a fascist and a libertarian permissive of fascism control our feeds. Musk and Zuckerberg have already lost legions of followers because of their recent changes accommodating the Trump administration, so perhaps you will be moved to unfollow too.
I don’t think there is a particular shame in staying on them, however; your participation certainly isn’t a lynchpin in their survival. You may rely on them for connection or even your livelihood. So if it brings life and joy to you, I think it’s fine to embrace it. But as for me, I was happy to walk away and haven’t looked back since.