That time I was almost a troll on Twitter and how I stopped myself.
I was so close to becoming the kind of person I can’t stand…
“The average person online is both arrogant and defensive as a matter of natural reflex.” — Drew Magary, published in Forge
There’s a reason I don’t spend a lot of time on Twitter. It seems to have cornered the market on bringing out the worst in people. Whether it’s considered cyber incivility or outright bullying, it’s something I know I won’t be able to avoid in the world of working in public, but it’s certainly something I never want to instigate.
You know the types: aggressive, condescending, or downright hostile. The ones that would never say something like this to another person’s face.
Ok, my comment wasn’t going to be mean, but it really made me stop and take notice of what I was about to do. Was I turning into one of those people that had no filter and no consideration for others online? Was this just a baby step towards that complete disregard for someone else’s feelings?
I was about to retweet a mistake from a prominent health figure here in Canada. It would have just been pointing out a spelling mistake. (See what I mean? I’m already trying to justify it as not being a big deal. This is how it starts.)
