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Discussion on: How to Manoeuvre Twitter as an Ordinary Mortal and Keep Your Sanity

 
deniselemonaki profile image
Dionysia Lemonaki

A big reason for my feed being such a mess is the fact that I follow some of the accounts that interact with the accounts I have talked about. In the beginning the people I followed seemed harmless and well intentioned. Or maybe I was just naive. Now though it seems like something has changed since they've grown a lot.Or are trying to grow like others. I feel bad unfollowing them because I have interacted with them . Not that they will notice but there is a bit of guilt there. I also find the mute button an amazing feature to help stop all the noise. I got to a point where I dreaded looking at my Home screen on Twitter and just used the search feature to look for the people I am interested in seeing what they've been up to. As you said, it is important to have the awareness of what goes on in the world but I think when it comes to social media it is vital to put our mental health first even if it means being strict. The whole point is to have a pleasant experience and meet and interact with people who have similar interests and ways with yourself. It's ok to come across people that are different and may challenge you but if it's a common occurrence and it affects you, then it's when it becomes an issue.

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schlenges profile image
Meike

I completely agree with you! What's the point in even using platforms like Twitter in the first place if you find yourself in a place where you start dreading to look at it. Your mental health does come first, always.
I was actually thinking of mentioning the mute function, maybe I will still add it to the list, thank you for bringing it up again! I think I tended to find that if you have to mute someone, why even follow them in the first place, but I will admit that there are occasions where this functionality comes in handy because sometimes it is not even so much about the other person or what they are tweeting, but about ourselves and what we are able to tolerate or deal with at a particular moment. So you're right, this is a good option to cut down on the noise too! I also completely understand what you're saying in regards to the guilty feelings of unfollowing certain people, especially if you used to interact with them. There is actually a point to be made of simply structuring your account the other way around: instead of putting so much control and filtering on who you are following, you could just utilize lists for easy access to the people and parts of Twitter you feel most comfortable with. That way you can simply bypass your actual feed on days you're not up for it and jump right into your more curated lists.

I also wouldn't be too harsh on others and yourself though, people are complex creatures and there is a possibility that some of those who you experienced as being genuine at first and who now seem to change their ways still do so from a place of good intention and are just lagging a broader view of what the implications of their actions are. Engaging in constructive conversations with these people is important too, so maybe completely leaving all of them behind doesn't even have to be, but as you said it so perfectly, "if it's a common occurrence and it affects you, then it's when it becomes an issue", and that's when you should put your sanity first and do whatever you need to do for yourself!