Social media – Twitter particularly – is not a reflection of the real world. But it can be toxic, and the poisonous words and threats can be too much too take … even for someone who loves a fight and has a thick skin.
After what happened to her over the past few days – when she was subjected to vicious personal attacks (which singled out her adopted black granddaughter) – it’s not surprising that Democratic Alliance federal chair Helen Zille has decided to quit the Twitter platform by closing her account.
Her announcement has been greeted with huge celebration by her enemies and by the “woke” crowd.
While we disagree with Zille on many things, and have criticised her firmly in the past, we think it is sad that bullying can be used to silence a voice like hers on social media.
However, we also believe it gives us an opportunity – those of us who use social media – to re-evaluate it, not only as a platform for debate, but also as a source of information.
On both counts, Twitter is woefully inadequate. Its debates are often ranting, hate-filled diatribes on all sides of the spectrum, while it is littered with fake news.
Perhaps we should #DeleteTwitter.
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