Is Twitter more dangerous than hard drugs and hookers?

This may seem like a strange post. I orginally talked about this elsewhere, but I think it will be more relevant here than anywhere. I doubt many people will agree with me but listen first before ye judge.

I think Twitter is a dangerous platform to use if you are a person who creates content and sells said content.

It has its advantages. Massive advantages in some cases. People like Alexander Cortes, a personal trainer in LA, has built an entire business by basically making a huge (and constant) splash on Twitter and getting people to sign up to his email list.

A number of people like Ben Settle, who have changed the way I look at business, I have found via Twitter.

So, I am not saying that you shouldn't use Twitter, but listen, Twitter is like a loaded AK-47 with hollow points, that you better be pointing in the right direction if you don't want to end up in the hospital missing an eye and half of your brain.

What makes it dangerous?

For ease of reading, I'll bullet them for you.

- Twitter is addictive because it is its own universe. This is the key reason why it is so dangerous.
- This social media website encourages you to make the most polarizing and outrageous statements possible. It is what gets attention. Nuance and moderation die here.
- Twitter makes you think you are "brand building" when really you can spend hours on it and see no difference in your wallet. This is a problem all social media has.
- Twitter encourages instant gratification over long-term progress. Why write a book when you can make some funny tweets that get retweeted instantly?
- You are competing for your audience against hundreds if not thousands of other voices, as well as algorithms totally beyond your control.
- Twitter opens you up to the whole world, meaning that you can be viciously attacked by a mob of strangers for something taken out of context or something you said 5 years ago to a friend.
- As we have discussed, Twitter encourages polarization, which means you are far more likely to butt heads with people. This makes for good entertainment but poor emotional health.
Now here comes the big reason, for me at least. Twitter retards your ability to create long-form content.

Personally, this is my main reason I am very cautious about using the platform for myself.
I know one man who used to be a serious blog writer, but after using Twitter to a huge degree during the political race of 2016, found it painful to write a 500-word book review after it had all died down.

Another writer, an essayist and heavy Twitter user, has been working on a book for years and years, and it has never come out. Don't worry though, his Twitter game is strong.

A great number of fiction writers have over 100k and 200k Tweets, yet they struggle to get their books released on time, and often their books are pretty badly written.

Twitter can be powerful. Extremely powerful. But it is like a drug. You get used to the notifications, the comments, the endless drama, the constant parade of self-promoting B.S, that you forget, oh yeah, I have a business to run, or even, oh yeah, I have a life to live.

So, like an addict going cold turkey, I am staying away from Twitter. As a result, I have become a much happier and much more productive person. Instead of seeing things in the context of "what will X think on Twitter?" I am now thinking, "What do I think?"

If you're big and enough and brave enough to wrestle with the Twitter beast and come out on top, I congratulate you.