How Twitter has colonized and ruined media

Like most people who use it, I have a complex and infuriating relationship with Twitter. It is a valuable source of information. It has put me in touch with fascinating people, some of whom have become real-life friends. It lets me crowdsource questions and discover the unlikeliest facts.

Yet, I frequently come away feeling dirtier. Twitter’s business model depends upon its users being priggish, censorious, and bellicose. It works because people take pleasure in correcting others — especially when they can do so as part of a self-righteous mob. In such a climate, nuance, accuracy, and generosity are lost. The slightest slip of the tongue is pounced upon. The worst construction is put on innocent statements. The vilest motives are inferred.