I’m a Twitter Quitter (Patreon)

It’s now been two months since I quit Twitter.

I’ve known for a while now that my use of Twitter wasn’t very healthy. Like pretty much everyone, I was addicted to my smartphone and could spend hours glued to Twitter. I wasn’t happy with how much time I was spending (and, for the most part, wasting) on the platform.

But on top of that, I realised that I was no longer enjoying the app. What used to be a fun place to drop jokes and start conversations was now a place of arguments, toxicity, and the worst dregs of the internet. 

I hated how mobs of self-righteous people would get together to ruin peoples lives over stupid jokes. I hated how my innocuous tweets would be skewed and intentionally misread, and used to start arguments. I hated how trolls would stalk me for days, sending toxic tweets in my direction because I champion progressive values. 

I was spending lots of time on a website I hated. That was stupid, so I had to quit. I had to break my addiction. 

I’ve tried before, but it never stuck. So I had to find a new approach. I had to figure out what I actually liked from Twitter and find suitable replacements. For example.

I use Twitter to tweet my videos and streams, and communicate with GMTK viewers.

This was hard, as it meant I couldn’t do a clean break. I couldn’t delete my account. Instead, I used the filters on Tweetbot to hide everything on my timeline - but keep my mentions and DMs intact. Now I can tweet and read stuff sent to me, but I can’t see the endless deluge of new tweets.

I use Twitter to keep up to date with the news

For this, I simply bookmarked websites like Eurogamer (for games), BBC (for other news), and other places to keep me abreast of what’s happening in the world. I also use an app called Nuzzel which shows me the most-tweeted links across the people I’m following. Now I can see what’s hot that day, without actually going to Twitter.

I can use Twitter to waste 10 minutes

Problem is, 10 minutes would often turn into 40 minutes. But still, Twitter’s a good thing to check when I’m waiting for someone, or on a train. Now I look at Reddit if I want to waste a few minutes - or, preferably, read a book if I’ve got more time to spend.

Twitter’s a good way to talk about stuff

Luckily, I’ve got a rather popular YouTube channel. I can also pitch articles (and actually get paid for my opinions) to places like Polygon. And I’ve got Patreon, also. 

For a short while, leaving Twitter was tough. I’d instinctively load the app or website. Or think about humorous things I could post. Or think about what I was missing.

But after a few weeks, it went away. And I started to see things differently.

Like, have you ever noticed how all the major social networks are just infinite content hoses. From the infinite scrolling Twitter feed to the eternal recommendations on YouTube. It’s really easy to get sucked into those sites for way longer than you mean to.

(See also: free-to-play mobile games that never end)

But now, all of my sites are finite. When I go to Eurogamer, there’s just a few new articles. I check out the ones I’m interested in and then… well, I’m done with the website. And I guess I have to do something else now! I’d forgotten what it was like for a website to just end.

I also now have to evaluate news stories myself. On social media, stories come prepackaged like “OMG I can’t believe this…” or “This is horrible…” and it’s easy to just have your opinion prepackaged for you. But when you’re reading stuff from a more objective source, you have to read it, decide what you think, and maybe discuss it with people.

But, probably, real people. Nuanced discussion is practically impossible on social media, and whenever I tweeted stuff I would get a deluge of opinions and thoughts from people who I don’t know and don’t care about. I’ve much more enjoyed talking about stuff in person.

I now also see the arguments on Twitter as just squabbling nonsense. When I see news stories that are like “Twitter is up in arms about vegan sausage rolls” or “Everyone on Twitter is angry about Ariana Grande’s tattoo”, it just sounds like the most pointless, petty bullshit. And I’m so glad I don’t have to care, don’t have to formulate an opinion, and don’t have to “weigh in” on the subject. 

Critically, I’ve found my attention span returning. Man, my attention span was knackered for a while there. I couldn’t watch a film on Netflix without pausing halfway through to see what was happening on Twitter. I remembered shutting my phone in a drawer and feeling like there was something alive and noisy in there - calling on me to remove it and see what was new. 

But now I can get fully invested in stuff again. I was worried I was broken forever, but I’m not. I can sit happily through a movie, fully engrossed in what’s on screen. I can read a book for hours. I can talk to people and focus exclusively on the current conversation. It’s great.

And, finally, I have more free time. I’ve been playing more games, working harder, sorting out future plans for GMTK, reading more books, watching more stuff, starting new hobbies (rock climbing! baking!), and seeing friends and family more. It’s superb.

I’m not going to try and get you to quit. Maybe your relationship to the site is different. Maybe you’re more of a Facebook addict than a Twitter one. But do give it some thought. How much is this thing adding to your life, and how much is it taking away? And could you maybe find the good aspects in a different place? 

Cheers

Mark