Dear Twitter, it’s time we had a talk. You & I have always had a bittersweet relationship. There’s a lot I like about you. You’re an amazing platform for connecting with fans, for promoting work, for keeping up with what’s happening in the news, for sharing my passions, hobbies and the worlds I’m interested in with other like-minded people.



But you’ve got a bad side too, Twitter. There are parts of you that bring out the worst parts of me. You are a lightning rod for conflict. You are a place where many groups of people who identify through subcultures or factions gather to battle out their wars of words. The conflicts between those groups can too often and too easily spill into the headspace of others.



I’ve done my best to remove negativity, conflict and drama from my life and as a result my social media feed too. This year I’ve unfollowed and muted literally hundreds of people so that I don’t see or get involved in dramas and conflicts anymore but somehow the negativity keeps on appearing on that endless wall of little white word boxes.



Y’see Twitter - I have this massive character flaw in that I lack self control sometimes when it comes to running my big stupid mouth about stuff. I then keep regretting it later because I inevitably end up accidentally upsetting or offending people, sometimes even the same people who support me and allow me to do my dream job. And that’s not ok.



We’re all unique beings trying to share our worldviews & passions. Sometimes it’s just not possible to agree. That shouldn’t frustrate me but somehow it does. I realise it isn’t healthy. I know how stupid it is to come home from the pub at 2am, see one stupid or annoying comment and go off on an hour long rant about some pet peeve or political view that the vast majority of my followers don’t really want to be hearing about. They’re here for some fun, positivity, jokes and rocking tunes - not meltdowns.



I’m tired of arguing with fellow progressives because we don’t agree with eachothers’ methods of communicating our ideas. I’m tired of having to defend my peers for their views too. Tired of taking abuse because of other peoples’ views, words and actions. Tired of being the dumb idiot on someone else’s feed having another self righteous, childish outburst about god knows what.



I’ve too often been that angry old man yelling at clouds and I’m trying to find ways to leave it behind. So you and me are going to be seeing less of eachother for a while until I get this figured out.



I want to reconnect my brain with real life a little more. I want to spend less time obsessing over who said what on social media and more time appreciating things like a moment with a loved one, a brisk walk in a light rainshower, the satisfying clank of Stratocaster through a Marshall amp on 50% gain, the fun of helping a fantasy NPC get their lost wedding ring back from a dungeon full of undead.



I’m not breaking up with you, Twitter. I’ll still be around responding to fans from time to time & sharing new projects & work and any positive thoughts I might have. I’m just trying to find a way to make our relationship more healthy & for now at least, that means less time together. I hope you understand. Love. Gav.



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