sometimes we receive negative attention on Twitter. we get dunked on, quote tweeted. our tweets go viral. at worst, journalists start calling, people outside Twitter hear about it, our reputation takes a dent.
humans weren’t built for processing sudden influxes of viral attention from huge swathes of the population.
here’s how to respond on Twitter in particular, if U are receiving more negative attention than U’d like:
- don’t reply from a triggered, angry state of mind
- can engage good-faith negative criticism, ifU so choose. or not
- U will not regret choosing to be kind to others, friend or stranger
- love yourself no matter what. use whatever happens as an opportunity to learn and grow personally. this is how we win
- U can always append replies to clarify your meaning, intent, personal experiences that led U to say what U mean, etc.
- mute and block liberally, as needed, as feels psychologically helpful
- U can limit replies to just people U follow, or just people U mentioned (including no one)—and U can change this for a given post at any point after U make it
- U can hide certain replies, or mute a whole thread if U don’t want to get notifs for it any more
- set notifications to only ppl U follow & who follow U
- can delete the tweet or thread if need be. i prefer not to do this, as having a historical record is often useful. but totally valid to do if U are receiving unwanted attention
- at most extreme, can lock your account for a time to radically curtail negative attention from strangers. this blocks people from quote-tweeting U directly (but not from using saved screenshots)
- as a rule, generally avoid talking to journalists (haven’t needed this myself yet but understand it is accepted best practice) who often misrepresent what U say, choose headline clickbait over your best interest
- fine and good to take a break whenever U need it. touch grass. remember there’s a whole world out there that doesn’t give a fuck what U said. your real friends will love U no matter what boneheaded thing U said or whatever some people say or think about it
often, these situations can usefully be seen as hitting the collective shadow and your feelings are collateral damage. the good news is that surfacing these points of collective tension for mutual understanding and repair is on the critical path to a happier world for all
if U play your cards right, these situations often end up surprisingly net-positive, even if they are intense and uncomfortable, even painful in media res
practicing Buddhist Right Speech (regardless of whether U are a buddhist or not) is helpful for avoiding these situations entirely