Personally Dealing with Abuse

I’ve made really close friends on Twitter. I got my first job through Twitter. Obviously, that’s all great, but then there’s the other side, too. People have harassed me on Twitter. I’ve dealt with a lot of abuse on Twitter. Twitter has made me much more cautious about who has access to my personal information. I try to be pretty careful to never post a picture or mention a location while I’m still there. All of that is important, too, even if it’s not as fun.Jackie Luo (@jackiehluo), software engineer, Square*

Dealing with online harassment and abuse can take a personal toll.

In an article for Wired, Robyn Kanner (@robynkanner) discusses the feeling of being publicly shamed: “It’s a lonely experience to feel like the most hated person alive for just saying what was on my mind.”

Even high profile figures who are routinely at the receiving end of this abuse can find particular events extremely concerning.

What you can do:

• Issue a statement. Issuing a response may not halt harassment and may even provide fodder for more. However, it can be personally helpful to speak on a tough situation and issue any clarification or points of contention.

• Take a hiatus. Often the best way to deal with harassment is time and space. It’s become commonplace for people to opt of Twitter permanently or for an extended period of time in a response to harassment and toxicity. Choosing to step away and focus on other aspects of life can be helpful in easing some of the suffering associated with being a target on Twitter.

  • Susan Fowler (@susanthesquark), an editor at The New York Times and the author of the widely read post, “Reflecting On One Very, Very Strange Year At Uber,” took nearly a four-month break from the platform after weathering abuse on Twitter that turned into hate mail.

  • Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT), a White House correspondent for The New York Times, opted to use Twitter in a limited capacity and wrote an article on why, noting, “The viciousness, toxic partisan anger, intellectual dishonesty, motive-questioning and sexism are at all-time highs, with no end in sight.”