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I think you bring your whole self to an in person encounter much more than you do to a social media presence. The difference is, there's no concept of proximity

I think you bring your whole self to an in person encounter much more than you do to a social media presence. The difference is, there's no concept of proximity. Everything you say on social is shouted to the entire room, so if you want to say anything, you have to say it to everyone. In a personal encounter, you react to the people near you. If they recoil, you might explain. On social, many people are reacting in different ways and even more not reacting at all. So how do you react to all of those reactions? (You don't)

pilsetnieks 5y ago
It's the same as with any public discourse these days. If your audience is practically infinite, you have to have an extreme and attention-grabbing viewpoint, otherwise you're just one in a sea of many. If you're only talking to a handful of people, be it in real life or on social media, you don't need the extremism and can afford moderate opinions and nuance.
nullc 5y ago
> If they recoil, you might explain. Or shift the subset of your views that you're exposing to a set that would result in a mutually enjoyable conversation. In person you can also be passively present and still interacting without saying much. But on twitter you're not even in the room unless you speak and generate reactions, the most reliable way to get a reaction is to be irritating rather than cooperate to generate a mutually good time.