I’m Suspending My Activity on Twitter

Articles, Sales Tools

I’ve been thinking about my relationship with Twitter for some time now. I like Twitter but, I have grown disillusioned by …

  • Mindless shares, likes, retweets, and replies … many of which I strongly suspect to be automated. Correction … I know to be automated.
  • Automated direct messages.
  • While I have never been a fan of automation, I’m just as mindless as everyone else.

Has my participation on Twitter brought me business and relationships? Recognition, perhaps. The other two? Maybe. However, these are not the main reasons for my recent decision to suspend my activity on this platform. I’m doing it in protest.

When “adults” willingly engage in insults, many of these vulgar, on a very public platform … it disgusts me. “Look at me! Aren’t I smart and important!” Start by looking in the mirror and then tell me if you like what you see. The worst thing is that … you probably do like what you see. Witness …

  • Our President
  • Politicians on the left and right
  • Other world “leaders”
  • Journalists
  • Activists, haters, and hate groups on both sides
  • Public figures including those in entertainment and sports. Not that I could give a rat’s ass about what any of these folks have to say anyway.

Is it any surprise that our children and young people emulate this bad behavior? After all, who are they supposed to learn from? We are their teachers and this is our lesson plan? To be fair, I am far from being a prude. However, I do have a very strong “where appropriate” filter.

Why has bullying become such a huge problem and where does much of this occur? You know the answer as well as I do. Recently a young girl hung herself and now trolls are using social media to make fun of this tragedy and to further torment her grieving parents.

So, I am making the choice to no longer be associated with what I view to be something that contributes to the problem. Am I being short-sighted? Probably. I also know that Twitter is what I make it and that these bad apples represent an extremely minute subset of the entire Twitter community. Sorry.

Will anybody even know that I am not there? Not likely. I’m a tiny grain of sand on a very large beach. I’ve already avoided Facebook for many of these same reasons and I have felt good about that decision. Add Twitter to the list and I’m going to feel even better. Will I change my mind? We’ll see. Never say never.

I have not yet closed down my account on Twitter although I am tempted to do so. However, I recognize that I can be impulsive so it is much more prudent to take these actions in steps with thoughtful pauses in between. What I do know is that I need a break. I turn 65 this coming year and, at my age, it’s not like I can do any damage.

My perception, at least, is that decorum can still be found on LinkedIn as can relationships. I have not done anywhere near as a good of a job on LinkedIn that I know I am capable of doing. Having one less distraction, Twitter, will hopefully allow me to correct this.

Craig M. Jamieson

Craig M. Jamieson

Managing Member at Adaptive Business Services
Craig M. Jamieson is a lifelong B2B salesperson, manager, owner, and a networking enthusiast. Adaptive Business Services provides solutions related to the sales professional. We are a Nimble CRM Solution Partner. Craig also conducts training and workshops primarily in social selling and communication skills. Craig is also the author of "The Small Business' Guide to Social CRM", now available on Amazon!
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