Why I Will Never Tweet

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
02/12/2015 at 15:14 • Filed to: None

Nor will I ever have a Facebook page. It's not that I plan to make offensive Tweets. It's the way social media can be used to destroy somebody for a moment's indiscretion. This !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! follows the lives of people who have been publicly shamed for offensive Tweets and how their lives were upended both professionally and emotionally. Gawker's own Sam Biddle plays an important part in this article, even though he later apologized for his actions. I'm going to show this article to my 12-year-old son, who is only now starting to text. Bottom line, if you don't want your words on the headline of a newspaper, don't write or say them. But if you do utter them, the wrath of the social justice warriors will be swift and brutal.

DISCUSSION (100)

For Sweden > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:20

But without twitter, we wouldn't have had Nick Denton rebuking Sam Biddle and the countless Gawker Media posts about it.

ttyymmnn > For Sweden
02/12/2015 at 15:23

Why do we need to hear Nick Denton's rebukes? These are the sort of things that used to be handled internally, not for the world to see.

Cherry_man1 > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:25

I'll set everything to private and make burner accounts. I'm no dumb ass about racist shit/offensive material. I save that fro FB where my shit is regulated.

area man > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:27

I think I agree? that's actually one of the reasons why I use my real name here (I have a twitter for work reasons but I don't use it, but it's also under my real name). Anything I say I am accountable for, but that's just how I choose to live my life. I don't feel bad for people who have had their lives "upended" though, if you're dumb enough to tweet a racist joke then you deserve to catch hell and probably lose your job if it involves using your common sense at all, because clearly you have none. I don't buy this "momentary lapse" thing either.

For Sweden > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:27

Because it's entertaining.

$kaycog > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:28

I'm with you. No Twitter or FB.

ttyymmnn > area man
02/12/2015 at 15:33

Give the article a read. You may feel differently. As I see it, the problem with social media is that we are losing our grip on our internal monologue. Twitter and Vine and all the others allow us to blast out to the world all the idiotic BS we think because it's there, it's easy, and our own vanity makes us believe that people will care. Instead of sharing something with one's closest friends friends and confidants, we share it with the world. And I think that's bad form. I don't make a single post here without re-reading it at least twice. I wish other people would do the same. It would save them from the wrath of the SJWs. But those SJWs need to turn the spotlight on themselves and see if what they are doing is serving a greater purpose than inflating their own sense of self-importance. There's enough blame to go around.

ttyymmnn > For Sweden
02/12/2015 at 15:34

And really, isn't that what Gawker is all about?

Takuro Spirit > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:36

YOLO

ttyymmnn > Takuro Spirit
02/12/2015 at 15:37

ROLO

Kinja'd!!!

deekster_caddy > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:37

I just created a Twitter account a few months ago. I post rarely, and nobody follows me anyway, but I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. I still can't really be bothered with it...

FB, always post carefully. I mostly stay out of political discussions too. I do post pictures or videos of my kids for family and extended family to enjoy, and sometimes I'll drop a few car pictures or tech questions there.

I don't understand why people take Twitter so seriously. Will be saving that NYT article for later when I have time to read it all.

Takuro Spirit > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:38

YOYO

Kinja'd!!!

ttyymmnn > Takuro Spirit
02/12/2015 at 15:40

HOJO

Kinja'd!!!

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:40

The main reason I never signed up for twitter and closed my FB account was that the benefits were marginal compared to the liability. Google+ is a little better in that they will allow you to delete your account and have a history of at least attempting to be on the side of the idea that your data is yours (at least identifiable).

Takuro Spirit > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:40

JOJO

Kinja'd!!!

area man > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:45

I'm not going to get into what makes someone a "SJW" in the pejorative sense vs legitimately calling out and complaining about overt bigotry. If people are weak enough to lose control of their internal monologues that's their problem. No one forced them to click submit or send on that tweet or whatever. I read it. The example of the PR woman and her AIDS tweet - no amount of thinky-pieces in reputable magazines will make me believe she didn't deserve what happened. I understand she's a person, but she's a person who made a terrible decision and was rightly pilloried for it. You can't discount how fact that she works in PR exacerbated the problem - I think if she was in any other field, people would be like on whatever just another ignorant person. But the fact that she presented herself online as this global PR expert made people assume that she meant what she's saying. After all, communicating is her job. So she herself created the conditions that led to the firestorm. I can't feel sorry.

E. Julius > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:46

I'm wondering if attitudes toward this sort of thing will change in the coming decades as the generations who grew up on this stuff ascend to power and these types of scandals become more common. Sort of like how sex scandals used to completely ruin a politician's public life forever, but nowadays represent a far less substantial blow (e.g. Mark Sanford).

Klaus Schmoll > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:47

The Sacco story was pretty prominent in the news, but there were other, smaller incidents that might be closer to a teenager's reality.

- Girl tweets that she is starting her shitty job (Pizza place) tomorrow. Boss tweets back that she shouldn't bother to come in, she's fired.

- Insensitive tweet about the whole Ferguson riot conundrum. People start boycotting and demonstrating in front of the fast food joint person works at. Gets fired.

Bad Idea Hat > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 15:49

I kind of touched on this a while ago. It feeds some of our basest, darkest reaches of our own psyche to be able to tear someone down anonymously over the internet. Some of us just look at that and think "man, what an idiot." A chunk, and a much larger chunk than anyone should ever feel comfortable about seeing, are willing to take those thoughts and turn them into a campaign of shaming.

Sam Biddle is one of those sociopaths that society has been promoting the raising of. It's a truly societal thing, in that it's now being ingrained in kids' heads that you must be willing to kill the person next to you's reputation if you want to get ahead in life. That's insane, absolutely pants-on-head-on-fire insane.

ttyymmnn > Bad Idea Hat
02/12/2015 at 15:55

Well said.

ttyymmnn > Takuro Spirit
02/12/2015 at 15:56

MOJO

Kinja'd!!!

ttyymmnn > Klaus Schmoll
02/12/2015 at 15:58

Exactly. But that's the problem with social media. 15 years ago, you might have thought that your job was shitty, but you'd tell your best friend and that's as far as it would go. Now you tell your Internet "friends" and the whole world will know. People have forgotten what the word "friend" really means.

ttyymmnn > area man
02/12/2015 at 16:00

I'm not necessarily asking you for sympathy for Ms. Sacco. It's more of a parable about how social media can have far reaching effects on people's lives. The guy in the computer symposium certainly didn't deserve the treatment he got. Hell, he didn't even Tweet anything.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 16:03

I 100% agree. The only form of Social Media I use is LinkedIn, and I haven't even been on that in months.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 16:07

As at least one radio personality puts it: "You will be made to care".

It's dangerous to take something that has many shades of gray and turn it into a black and white / right or wrong issue.

But alas, this is what is done.

Klaus Schmoll > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 16:09

They also aren't aware that this stuff will be there forever for every possible employer to see. About ten years ago, a German facebook clone aimed at university students was all the rage. A friend of mine applied for a TA job and when he went to the interview, he saw his profile among that of other applicants printed out on the professor's desk. Clearly a violation of their policies somewhere in the small print that nobody reads, but who cares or will enforce it? A few drunk party pics too many and the job goes to the next person.

ttyymmnn > Klaus Schmoll
02/12/2015 at 16:15

I was at a party last year with parents from my boys' school, and a couple of the teachers were there as well. One of them is working her way through the system in hopes of being a principal one day. At one point a camera came out, and she quickly put her beer behind her back. Smart woman. I've even heard of interviews were the applicants are asked to log in to their Facebook page as part of the interview. Ultimately, people need to be more careful with their own words and images, but at what point do we no longer have private lives? How can what I do in my free time affect my standing as an employee when I'm not actively representing the company? That's where these shamers are crossing the line.

Takuro Spirit > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 16:16

FLOJO

Kinja'd!!!

ttyymmnn > Takuro Spirit
02/12/2015 at 16:17

DODO

Kinja'd!!!

fhrblig > Takuro Spirit
02/12/2015 at 16:17

BOLO?

Kinja'd!!!

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > area man
02/12/2015 at 16:26

The point being made here is that any blowback is far in excess of what is actually deserved. Should you be called out for doing or saying something stupid? Possibly. Do you deserve to be fired over it? I'd say no, but then again, look at how these people are treated. In the case of one person who started the firestorm by pointing out her colleagues were less than savory, and got them fired, ended up getting fired herself, *even though her intentions were, quote-unquote "good"*.

It's not enough that you aren't taking the opposition point of view to the SJW crowd (for whatever viewpoint they are taking), not taking a position at all is, for all intents and purposes, considered identical to taking the opposition point of view.

In other words, unless you fall in line with the groupthink of the SJW crowd, you are to be marginalized to the edge of society, and not allowed to have any part of a normal life. This gets enforced because other people who may not care about what the SJW crowd thinks does not want to get tarred as "the guy who helped the outcast" and themselves become marginalized.

It's a very dangerous perspective on how to convince people to take your side in an argument. Because what you end up with is the losing side feeling bitter and marginalized.

Which, *WAIT A MINUTE*... Wasn't that the whole point in the first place, SJWs? To eliminate people feeling bitter and marginalized by society, so we could all just get along and sing "Kum-ba-ya"?

Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

desertdog5051 > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 16:27

Fascinating article. The last paragraph was so true. What a warped sense of approval-need we have developed as a culture. I work part time at a Lowe's store. Recently, I walked into the employee break room and all 10 of the people in there were buried in their phones. Most on Twitter or FB. I asked what they did before the advent of smart phones. One person looked up and said "We used to talk to each other." A very sad place we have arrived at as a society.

Takuro Spirit > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 16:31

MOBO

Kinja'd!!!

ttyymmnn > desertdog5051
02/12/2015 at 16:33

My parents come to TX every so often to visit their grandkids. They spend the whole time sitting in the living room playing solitaire on their iPads. It's ridiculous. And sad.

Takuro Spirit > fhrblig
02/12/2015 at 16:33

SOLO

Kinja'd!!!

ttyymmnn > Takuro Spirit
02/12/2015 at 16:34

HOHO

Kinja'd!!!

Klaus Schmoll > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 16:34

I have that relfex as well! Might come with the job. I also set up this Klaus Schmoll persona years ago to put a little distance between myself and my web activities. An NSA analyst or a hacker will only need a few seconds to find out who is behind it but I hope it is enough to stop my students from finding out too much personal stuff.

Takuro Spirit > ttyymmnn
02/12/2015 at 16:36

KODO

Kinja'd!!!