Twitter dependency

The silver lining from all shenanigans from being search suggestion banned on Twitter is how it revealing just how dependent I have become on the dopamine hits it gives.

It’s like a daily fixation, obsession even, to log in and get the little dopamine hits from likes, impressions, RTs, follows.

TBH it’s starting to feel like a scene in a Las Vegas casino where I’m one of those retired old man in tweed shirt and a baseball cap sitting in front of a slot machine. Just sitting there for hours, day in, day out, just pulling. Slotting the coin. Pulling again. Most of the time, you don’t win anything but you know the next win is coming so you keep pulling. Occasionally in an unpredictable manner, there’s some small wins, you get some coins, and that keeps you seated even longer. Even rarer, you hit a nice jackpot, and that justifies your existence there all over again.

Being on Twitter feels similar. Like gambling. Most days your tweets go flat. Occasionally, it gets attention and you feel good. Once a month or few months, someone huge RTs your tweet and you go mega viral. It’s like Twitter is an online slot machine. Your coins are your tweets and replies. Getting likes, impressions and follows are the small wins. Going viral is your jackpot.

We’re all gamblers at the casino of a social network.

And it’s getting unhealthy now, for me at least.

On the flip side, yes, it’s undeniable that there are upsides to being active on Twitter - the learning, the connections, the support. Both can be true. But lately the scale had dipped more to the unwholesome side.

So maybe this ban is a blessing in disguise.

This ban wasn’t a jail sentence, it’s a release from jail.
The real Twitter jail in the mind, that dependency and fixation with it.

It’s a sign to get me to get off Twitter and go spend that time and energy building instead. That’s what I want to do anyway, with my commitment to maintaining my Github streak all the way till 2023 is over.

Alright then. Time for build mode.