“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

— Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.

Next month marks 12 long years since I joined Twitter.

I distinctly recall an early conversation while walking to lunch with the dev team I was managing then, joking about how Twitter was used primarily to let people know you were on your way to the bathroom, or you were back from the bathroom.

It all seems so simple and lighthearted in hindsight.

Early on with both Twitter and Facebook, I had some worries about the psychological and sociological impacts of both of them on the individual and culture at large*. I even pondered writing a bit about it… but never did.

I quit Facebook in Dec. 2013.

Last week, I purged everything from my Twitter account, deleting over 200,000 tweets that had been posted in the nearly twelve years since I first posted. (It was astonishingly cathartic.)

I believe that Facebook and Twitter—and most social networks (as currently implemented) for that matter—are net destructive to both the individual, and to society at large. And I feel that I can no longer contribute to Twitter for two key reasons:

1. In their inaction, Twitter management has contributed to the political breakdown of the U.S. and beyond.
2. Twitter is destructive to my time, my life, and my mental health, particularly at this point in time.

Let me explain…

First – Twitter is nothing more than a revenue-generating graffiti wall to the management of Twitter. If it was anything more than that, they would have done more to curb problematic individuals on the site. They’ve long known that the site has a problem with bots/zombies, they’ve taken no action to ensure any form of user authenticity (other than blue checking, which is token bullshit). Most dangerous to our country, they’ve failed to police dangerous speech – particularly by those in government or business “leadership” positions. Instead, every day brings new lies posted by Donald Trump, ratified primarily by eggy pseudonymous accounts that do nothing but amplify his lies, his lies about his lies, and his lies lying about lying about his lies.

Second – I know I’ve spent a ton of time on Twitter in the last twelve years. I’ve had fun, made lots of jokes/gifs/puns, and most of all, I’ve met some wonderful people – breaking bread with many of them in real life. (Also, thank you, @darth, for everything.) But sweet fancy Moses, Twitter is a massive garbage fire uncontrolled tire fire.

The last six months of my life have been incredibly tumultuous. I don’t need every single person amplifying Donald by sharing his latest lie. (He’s had multiple failed businesses and hosted hosted a game show. Is it surprising that his narcissism and lack of leadership is literally killing Americans now?) I don’t need to hear about how the GOP values money over actual lives. That’s not new. It’s just surprising to some people now that they get to see it in real vivid color and honesty.

The absence of physical connection—of presence—on the Internet brings about the worst in each of us, if we’re not constantly mindful about what we’re reading, our actions, and our reactions. The Internet is the sociological cesspool that it is because we have no connections to others.

When we’re not careful, that lack of connection causes the emotional, short-fused parts of our minds to react, rather than the logical, considered parts of our minds. I think that a lot of what has occurred in American politics in particular over the last 4-8 years has a lot to do with this; from the top down in this country, irrational, overly emotional social network posts rule the day. You can’t even rationally criticize them in person or press, as live interactions have degraded as well.

Because they aren’t willing to make the tough choices on policing abuse, Twitter will continue to spiral deeper into the muck, becoming even more of a sociological mess, while also becoming a worse and worse place for each of us to spend time if we care about our own mental well-being.

Lest you worry about me, I’m good, thanks. I need pictures of flowers. I need a good laugh. I need to write more. I’ve spent more time talking with my daughters over the past few months, and less and less time staring at my iPhone.

I’ve put blocks on Twitter on my mobile devices, and I’m trying to check it infrequently. Don’t fall in love with anything I post, as posts are likely to disappear just as Swiftly as they show up.

For now, I’m not deleting my account, and I’ll reply to DMs when I see them – particularly as they relate to helping people with licensing questions or concerns. We’ll see… but there’s a definite likelihood that I’ll permanently burn my Twitter account during 2020. You can always find me on LinkedIn or via email (it’s still not dead, y’all).

*I have a B.A. in psychology with a political science minor. My advisor and favorite teacher in college was focused on community psychology, so it became an obvious area of interest for me as well – and I took so much sociology that as I recall, I was only one course short of it being a potential double major.