Users wonder who asked for this
Last week, Twitter announced that it’s experimenting with longer tweets; 280 characters, to be exact.
While Twitter is a great platform to post your thoughts, sometimes, those tweets can be laced with negativity — unwanted and even threatening words. Given the state of the world right now, maybe expanding the space people have to perform hate speech is not the best way to go.
Instead of providing users with tools for reporting harassment, killing the platform’s giant bot networks, banning the neo-nazis, or removing abusive content, Twitter has given the public something it seems like no one has even asked for.Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted that he expected “all the snark & critique for #280characters. Comes with the job. What matters now is we clearly show why this change is important, and prove to you all it’s better.”There has been a huge divide on the subject on Twitter and online. Many people just want things to stay the same, because short is sweet. Others are happy they can now tweet many more dad jokes.
According to statements from the company, Twitter has said that safety is their number one priority. They have also said that abuse on the site is now “significantly less” than it was a year ago, according to a post by Ed Ho (general manager, consumer product and engineering).
A good rule of thumb, whether you’re tweeting or talking in real life, is to choose your battles wisely. Throwing negativity out in the world will only bring more into your life. What the world doesn’t need more of right now is hate and negative comments floating into space.
Tweet us @theontarion and tell us what you think. Are you psyched with the increase of characters, or is this the beginning of the end for Twitter?
Image by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion.
The not entirely obvious problem with twitters 140 character limit is that it leaves almost no space to develop a thought, and when you do not have the space to fully state your point when you disagree it becomes significantly easier and more satisfying to just “sh*t post.” I would estimate this is what makes the platform ripe for abuse, and a doubling of the character limit may be a way to mitigate this problem of “hate” in a way the general public may not have asked for or even thought to ask for.