A radical and probably unpopular take on Twitter drama
By now, you should have figured out that social media is bad. It's bad in a lot of ways, and this topic deserves a much wider treatment, but I did want to offer an opinion I haven't otherwise seen expressed.
Let's start with a thought experiment. Imagine, a prominent influencer has made some rude claim about their tribal opponents. And then, taking the bait, imagine members of that tribe strike back en masse. Some appropriately, some rudely, and some unhinged, crazy, and maybe even illegal. And after something of a big Twitter storm, your friends, or perhaps other commentators online are offering their side-takes. "Can you believe [influencer] has said XYZ?" or "[influencer's opponents] are crazy, it proves their whole tribe is full of unhinged radicals." etc. You know how this goes.
So my question for you, in such a situation, who is the loser? Is the influencer for suffering such an overwhelming response? Is it the opposing tribe, whose extreme edges have painted the broader group with an extremist brush? I think there are a lot of valid answers to this question, but I'd offer that the loser is you.
You lose for even knowing about the Twitter drama in the first place. Prior to getting outraged, prior to forming a response, prior to anything else, your time has been wasted by extremists. By persuasion peddlers. (otherwise known as influencers) Someone else has framed a debate for you. Has pushed your buttons. Has wasted your time. Has "demanded" that you respond, even if it's just privately, mentally.
The better response to any sort of Twitter drama would be: Why do you even know about this drama? Why are you aware of it? Your mind could be focused on your hobbies, on your friends, your family, your obligations. But someone has stolen something precious from you. They have stolen your focus, they have stolen your frame of mind. And because of the internet, these people are remote. You cannot shout them down. You cannot yell at them until they stop. (there are too many persuasion peddlers for that) The only thing you can do is ignore them. It's the only tool in your belt.
The next time you're fired up about internet drama, remind yourself (as I must often remind myself) that you have failed; you allowed yourself to become aware of internet drama in the first place. "Why do you even know this exists?"