A Rant About Jumping to Conclusions

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Twitter is a fickle place; we all know that. People come and go constantly. You find someone you get on well with, become friends and then one day they vanish. My spare time is limited these days, so I am a rare visitor to Twitter. If I do look in, it’s generally a quick glance rather than scrolling right through my whole timeline.  I don’t avidly monitor follower numbers like some seem to and, although it is sad to see people you get on well with slip away, everyone has their reasons for doing so. And I wouldn’t blame anyone for this as, quite honestly, I’m not a particularly interesting account to follow nowadays.

Earlier in the year, I realised that it had been some time since I had been in touch with someone I was quite friendly with. I went to our previous DM exchange to send a message, but found I was blocked. I was puzzled by this, as we had always got on well and I knew it was unlikely that I had done something to offend them. And, of course, it could have been a mistake. Over the next few months, I checked a couple of times and found I was still blocked. Earlier this week, I found I had been unblocked and I sent the person a message. There was a plausible and legitimate explanation for the blocking, which I guess involved all accounts that had an adult theme.  It would have been nice to have been warned it was going to happen, but I was pleased to be back in contact over and above anything else.

I also became aware this week that a long-term follower, and someone I had considered to be a friend, had blocked me. Again, I could think of no logical reason why they would do this. I messaged them through other means to ask why they had blocked me and explained that I was puzzled by it. The reply was that it was because I had unfollowed them on Twitter. I hadn’t unfollowed them. Most people who use Twitter know that random follows and unfollows happen frequently. I explained this to the individual concerned. This possibility appears not to have crossed their mind. But, apparently, I was still public enemy number one, as I no longer interacted on Twitter and had not replied to a message sent some time ago. I never received the message, as I was no longer using that particular app. As for not interacting any more, I pointed out that my timeline had very little interaction with anyone, as I no longer had the time to spend on Twitter (although I always respond to DMs).  It seemed that the person concerned jumped to the incorrect conclusion that I was deliberately ignoring them and shutting them out. Instead of sending me a DM or an email, they decided that the appropriate way of approaching the matter was to block me, even though I was completely oblivious to what had happened.

I have noticed on my rare visits to Twitter that there is usually some sniping on my timeline from people reading between the lines and jumping to conclusions about other’s lives. That is a general observation and is not aimed at anyone in particular!   So much context is lost in messaging and on social media and, unless someone specifically tells you the facts, it is impossible to establish what is going on in a person’s mind, or life, purely from reading a few tweets, or from a prolonged silence.  Try giving people the benefit of the doubt sometimes, or better still try and communicate properly with them. Interaction is a two way process. Being friends with someone doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be in constant contact and a lengthy silence shouldn’t be taken as a personal affront, nor should it cause doubt over someone’s integrity. I am not particularly one for inspirational quotes, but I think the image below sends a profound message.
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