In my experience Twitter not only demands your attention, it holds it hostage.
Some of you might know that I have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Mine personally manifests as checking locks, checking my fridge and an almost insatiable urge to clean.
Recently I began to notice that my relationship with Twitter felt more compulsive than based on true enjoyment. Logging on to the site didn’t bring me any joy, but without fail I would check it multiple times a day.
I think Twitter as a whole relies on FOMO. There were many reasons I wanted to keep checking: Was I missing breaking news? Was I missing a job opportunity? Was I missing information I desperately needed but did not realize?
It kept me coming back. Over and over again, in the same exact way that I check my doors just to make sure the lock holds. Just to make sure everything is okay.
It isn’t healthy to be that plugged in. I wasn’t using it as a tool for community, in fact Twitter made me feel distant from Game Audio in general. I still stuck to my group chats and my private conversations.
So what benefit was I getting? Cohost alone feels like a return to a time on the internet where I felt the most at home. My freelance work is sustainable enough without it. I’m part of other communities on other websites and apps that feel healthier. I’ve always been someone who reads the news and I don’t need to get that from the birdsite.
My disorder makes me obsess. When I get obsessed, I create compulsions to make the TV static in my brain go away.
I don’t see a point in subjecting myself to an IV drip of the worst we have to offer each other.
