Are we really so far down the "obligatory memetic envelope because apparently just stating opinions isn't socially acceptable any more" slope that we've dropped past "can't stop thinking about x lmao" and on to "i was talking to my sister and, get this, i said x"?

[–] WillBalls 9 points 2 months ago

That was something I actually really liked about old Twitter: with only 140 characters (or whatever the original limit was), you really couldn't add the extra fluff to soften your opinion. You just said what you meant as succinctly as possible and let the masses react as they will.

I'd like to think it forced more people to go "mask off" with their opinions and stop hiding behind fluff, but it also perpetuated an attitude of toxicity that made Twitter ripe for extremist exploitation

[–] arken 5 points 2 months ago

Yes, I think the motivation is often to remove oneself one step from accountability, and also lend credence to the statement - not only I, but another person thinks the same way I do and said this. Third party experience is powerful in persuasion, "everybody's saying it".