Over the past few days, I’ve become increasingly upset with things which I’ve seen on the internet, and particularly on Facebook. I very much dislike some of the ways in which I perceive some people to be acting, or representing themselves online.
Reflecting on this, however, brought me to consider my own impact. Whilst I try very hard (and often succeed) at being measured, considerate and thought-out in my writing online, I am often absolutely not. This, I believe, is almost entirely (if not completely) in tweets: 140 characters of expression, which rarely allows for a balanced approach to issues.
In Facebook comments, my longer articles on issues which interest me, blog posts such as I have begun writing here, and even simply my more discursive uses of twitter, I believe I can be successful in reaching these aims of moderation and balance. Far more reasonable than I sometimes let myself be on twitter, at least.
As much as I might still believe in the point, then, I will aim from today to stop posting reactionary, inflammatory tweets about things which make me angry. Instead? Maybe I’ll take notes for a calmer, more thought out blog post or article later.
My friend Grace once said that I sometimes fail in allowing my anger to ‘dwarf my opinions’, and I think that puts it perfectly. I do believe that I can be successful in giving an impact - both to those who know me well, and strangers who may come to know me through online media - of myself which is very positive. I think I’ve done this several times, and I place great value in the relationships I’ve formed and new people I’ve managed to meet through twitter. I’m finally taking the lesson that this positive point can so easily be damaged by explosive attacks, compressed and concentrated into a tiny 140 characters.
There’s also another reason to try and change this about myself: anger is easy. Being angry, and more importantly; being critical, is effortless. That’s why so many inches of opinion columns by regular writers are filled simply with complaints. I don’t wish to dismiss these types of article, but what I do want to do is encourage myself to be thoughful and interesting, rather than merely angry and emptily provocative.
