Aggressively unfollowing people is the only way to keep Twitter useful.
I think the mistake people make is approaching Twitter follows like they would friendship links on Facebook or other platforms. You don’t have a relationship with the people you follow. Don’t hesitate to let it go.
The loudest people on Twitter are often the worst at providing actual value. They optimize for clickbait and engagement, which can trick people into thinking that the person is a good follow.
The moment you realize someone’s Tweets are not providing value or they’re always making you sad/angry/outraged, click that unfollow button. It makes a world of difference.
I agree that it's possible to curate a good Twitter experience, but it's concerning to me that Twitter is hostile by default. I'm not sure if it's trying to promulgate a specific repugnant ideology or maybe it tries to provoke everyone equally (e.g., for engagement), but in either case it seems socially harmful. And to be clear, I don't mind that it shows me a lot of content from people with whom I disagree (even forcefully), but I do mind that the content it boosts is the lowest quality argumentation (calling it "argumentation" is too generous). For example, in a recent high profile self defense case, Twitter didn't boost any legal expert analysis, but it did boost the d-list celebrities and popular journalists (and their vitriolic followers) whose views don't survive even the slightest encounter with the evidence. And to be clear, the issue isn't that it's promoting this stuff to me (I have thick skin, apparently), but that it's promoting it to everyone by default, such that it is a systemic problem.
I think the mistake people make is approaching Twitter follows like they would friendship links on Facebook or other platforms. You don’t have a relationship with the people you follow. Don’t hesitate to let it go.
The loudest people on Twitter are often the worst at providing actual value. They optimize for clickbait and engagement, which can trick people into thinking that the person is a good follow.
The moment you realize someone’s Tweets are not providing value or they’re always making you sad/angry/outraged, click that unfollow button. It makes a world of difference.