Twitter is one of the most used social media network of recent times. Business outlets and companies are using Twitter to reach out to their audience and this has streamlined the communication between the customers and the brands. Apart from the business point of view, it is one of the most used social media networks among the millennials who are either searching for business opportunities or looking for entertainment and information. Known as the powerhouse of memes and trolling, Twitter has made its mark for various reasons.
Recently, Twitter has received multiple complaints against a specific feature that has made most of the users incredibly uncomfortable. The feature is known as the Twitter list feature that is quite unique and most of the users are not yet aware of this function. With the help of the Twitter list feature, the user can create a public or private feed where he can see all the tweets from the people that have been added to that list. This works for the cast of your favorite show, your best friends or even politicians you like, with the help of this selective feature the user will be able to stay in touch with all the recent news.
The purpose of these Twitter lists might seem useful, however, Twitter trolls have started using this feature for harassing the users. In most cases, users observed that when their tweets were posted on other platforms like Reddit or other forums, people who didn’t agree to the tweeter would add it on their list. Since it is quite easy to embed a tweet and share it to the other platforms and there is no way that every reader who reads the tweet perceives it the same way, and this is where things have gotten out of control.
Most people who have reported the abuse are either women, people of color or just any religious minority. This means that with the help of this feature Twitter is becoming a hostile place for people who belong to any minority. As a way to solve this problem, most people have started deleting their tweets but this has not yet been taken seriously by the management. Although after several complaints Twitter decided to remove the notifications that were just to notify if the user were added to a list, after several complaints, they reverted the change. In short, the problem is still there and users are now coming up with various ways to resolve the issue at an individual level. Now, it is imperative for the micro-blogging app to take a wise decision and resolve the problem as early as possible, because this implies that Twitter is not doing enough to combat the trolls.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Read next: Assumptions Related to Twitter Notifying about Tweets Sent via DM Turned Out to be Fake
Recently, Twitter has received multiple complaints against a specific feature that has made most of the users incredibly uncomfortable. The feature is known as the Twitter list feature that is quite unique and most of the users are not yet aware of this function. With the help of the Twitter list feature, the user can create a public or private feed where he can see all the tweets from the people that have been added to that list. This works for the cast of your favorite show, your best friends or even politicians you like, with the help of this selective feature the user will be able to stay in touch with all the recent news.
The purpose of these Twitter lists might seem useful, however, Twitter trolls have started using this feature for harassing the users. In most cases, users observed that when their tweets were posted on other platforms like Reddit or other forums, people who didn’t agree to the tweeter would add it on their list. Since it is quite easy to embed a tweet and share it to the other platforms and there is no way that every reader who reads the tweet perceives it the same way, and this is where things have gotten out of control.
If you're a woman with a verified account or a lot of followers, and you've experienced swarms and targeted harassment, here's a reminder to check what lists you're on. Block all list creators you don't know. https://t.co/EYRPP9twJz— Heidi N. Moore (@moorehn) March 17, 2019
Most people who have reported the abuse are either women, people of color or just any religious minority. This means that with the help of this feature Twitter is becoming a hostile place for people who belong to any minority. As a way to solve this problem, most people have started deleting their tweets but this has not yet been taken seriously by the management. Although after several complaints Twitter decided to remove the notifications that were just to notify if the user were added to a list, after several complaints, they reverted the change. In short, the problem is still there and users are now coming up with various ways to resolve the issue at an individual level. Now, it is imperative for the micro-blogging app to take a wise decision and resolve the problem as early as possible, because this implies that Twitter is not doing enough to combat the trolls.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Read next: Assumptions Related to Twitter Notifying about Tweets Sent via DM Turned Out to be Fake
