In the age of internet trolls and polarising pundits, perspective is crucial

Social media networks have developed into an essential part of everyday life in the time since The National was launched

Chris Blackhurst says social media is a useful tool but a dangerous opponent.

When The National was founded 15 years ago, social media was in its infancy. Today, it’s an established aspect of life.

For the opinion writer, it’s both a friend and enemy, a useful tool but also a dangerous opponent. If you want to know where someone stands on a particular issue, see what they’re posting on Twitter or Facebook. Likewise, if you want to know what people think of something you’ve written, see what’s being said about you on Twitter or Facebook.

But keep it in perspective. The most active folk on social media, the ones who post the most and have the biggest followings, are not representative. They’re often the noisiest, shouting to attract attention.

This is the problem, that nobody is especially interested if you’re reasonable. Social media feeds extremes, both in the lengths of the comments (it’s hard to be reasoned and thought-through in a few words) and the fact that readers will give you only seconds of their time. Then there are the active users themselves – people who by and large like a good argument, who seemingly enjoy being rude to others.

Most, the silent majority, view and post nothing. Social media wants them for the advertising, but to keep the beast alive, it requires the minority to tweet and post away.

Social media platforms such as Twitter have become a place for anyone to relay their opinions. AP

Many is the time I’ve gone on to Twitter to see the reaction to a piece I’ve written, only to find something abusive. Fine, if it’s considered and justified, but usually, they’ve not read the article at all, they’ve not gone beyond the headline or they’ve chosen to quote something entirely out of context.

Think of social media like the shouty man standing at a bar. He’s there, mouthing off, airing his beliefs and you’re sitting quietly at a table, listening and shaking your head at the rubbish that he’s spouting.

Just because he’s got an audience gathered around him does not make him right. Similarly, those with the largest followings are not necessarily people you respect and trust.

Once, people did not have a platform. Now they’ve got one – and so conspiracy theories that previously would not gain currency spread like wildfire. Worse, they’re believed.

It’s a brave person who dares to contradict them. People don’t like being told they’re wrong or speaking nonsense. Instead of listening they shoot you down, sometimes in the vilest terms.

But as opinion writers we must do that. It’s our duty to shoot down the preposterous theories about the pandemic and the efficacy of the vaccine. We’re beholden to explain that 9/11 was not caused by the CIA bombing its own. We need to describe how man really did land on the Moon and the whole spectacle was not shot in a warehouse in Florida. Otherwise, all we’re left with is the conspiracy theorists who love to populate the vacuum.

That’s not to say it’s not also a hugely useful resource. When he was president, I grew quite fond of turning on my phone in the morning as I still lay in bed and reading what Donald Trump had tweeted overnight.

Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. AFP

He was stating it, without editing or embellishment. In doing so, by choosing Twitter, he was stealing a march on the world’s press by declaring his agenda and therefore setting their agenda, to an extent my agenda, for the day ahead, before they’d had their morning editorial meetings and we’d discussed priorities.

With his tendency to indulge in screaming block capitals and only write pithy comments, ones he did not have to justify, Trump was in his element. He was the ultimate loud bloke, letting rip.

It was clever and smart, and he was influencing public opinion in a way no president, no politician anywhere, had ever done before.

Other figures do the same, airing anything and everything via the social networks, cutting out the mainstream media to get their thoughts across. Our job is to agree and disagree, to aggregate and filter for you, our readers, to help you make sense of the world.

Thanks to social media, the landscape has changed much in the last 15 years; doubtless it will evolve again in the next 15. You can rest assured, The National will be there, acting as a friend and expert guide.

Chris Blackhurst is a former editor of The Independent and a columnist for The National