There are a lot of lessons that have arisen since the advent of Twitter. Don't follow a bunch of people hoping they'll follow you back (lame). Don't buy fake followers (ever more lame). But there's one lesson that has emerged more forcefully than the rest: Sometimes – no, scratch that, most of the time – it's better to keep things to yourself.
Now don't get us wrong: Twitter is an invaluable resource for our changing world, and it's played a positively transformative role in how we communicate. When two bombs detonated near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, it wasn't journalists who were first to report it – it was Twitter users. And Twitter hasn't only spawned citizen reporting, but also the kind of activism that's helped to overthrow tyrannical governments and establish new systems of political order. The Arab Spring, for instance, was largely galvanized by the unifying power of resources like Twitter and Facebook, according to WIRED.
But for all its power in promoting social justice, Twitter is also notable for giving a platform to the kind of unfiltered ramblings that should never see the light of day. How many people do you know who've tweeted something awkward, inappropriate, or just flat-out incendiary? For our part, we can think of quite a few people who treat Twitter as their own private confessional, one that the rest of the world can just happen to read. How about the communications director who visited Africa and let her followers know that she wouldn't get AIDS because "I'm white!"? (Fired). Or how about the Brazilian law student who suggested killing people for voting for a particular political candidate? (Imprisoned). And finally, there is the example of Amanda Bynes, who's like a walking anti-Twitter PSA – even if she doesn't know it.
Watching a public figure unravel
As of Oct. 31, Amanda Bynes has 3.38 million Twitter followers – a hefty number for someone who only reactivated her account in March. For those without Nickelodeon as kids, Bynes was once a child star with her own show. As a kid, she was funny and comfortable in front of the camera. But in recent years she's become far more notable for her public antics than any creative work. The most recent stories about her, for instance, report that she checked herself out of a psychiatric facility only to appear largely unhinged on Los Angeles' Sunset Strip.
It would be hugely inaccurate to say that Twitter is Bynes' main problem these days. The real issue seems to be some mental health problems which we're not qualified to speculate on. But Bynes' personal struggles have been cast in the punishing light of public scrutiny thanks to her Twitter account. Since launching her account, Bynes has used it as a platform to voice some very private thoughts, including allegations of abuse against a close family member as well as long tangents about her own mental health. Regardless of what one thinks while perusing these tweets, one thing is pretty clear: We probably shouldn't be reading them.
Before you use Twitter to vent or decompensate, consider your audience. With Bynes, for instance, how many of her millions of followers keep abreast of her life due to genuine concern about her well-being? Not many. Mostly, her tweets provide fuel for bloggers and perverse entertainment for the general reader. The overwhelming question isn't "How can we help this person," but "How far can she fall?" If Bynes' continued meltdown holds any message for the general tweeter, it's to keep more to yourself.
