COMMENTARY: Don’t feed the troll
Contributed by Kaia Flowers, history major with social studies 7-12 certification
The Sunday morning news frenzy was once again focused on President Donald J. Trump’s Twitter account and his inappropriate tweets. People are up in arms over his retweet of another GIF showing him “taking out” an opponent and his use of the term “rocket man” for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. I have exactly one thing to say in response to this media hysteria – don’t feed into the hysteria.
These are not the first controversial tweets to come from Trump’s Twitter account and it will not be the last by a long shot. We are still in the first year of his presidency. He has proven repeatedly that he has no intention of apologizing or changing his style, so Americans need to change their strategy when dealing with Trump tweets.
Step one is simple, hit the unfollow button. Do not give him an audience to spew these “modern day presidential” tweets too. His unfiltered style on Twitter feeds his base and keeps him in the news cycle 24/7, but this is not the reason news organizations should report on him.
Step two is harder, you must ignore the media when they report on his Twitter feed. Every time they publish a news article or produce a segment about it, look away. Ratings are king, and it’s our job to force other issues into the limelight. If we change the channel or stop reading articles about unsuitable social media usage, we will hopefully change the narrative and our country desperately needs that. CNN produced a one-hour segment about Twitter and Trump last month. There are serious legislative issues that are constantly overshadowed by our president’s social media habit – let’s shine a light on those issues.
Step three is fairly easy but requires self-control. Avoid hitting the re-tweet or share button when it comes to memes or GIFs surrounding his social media accounts. Just pretend like there isn’t a social media account for our current commander-in-chief. We cannot allow ourselves to constantly reinforce his unapologetic behavior.
Instead of worrying about Twitter, focus on getting involved in our political process. Find out who your representatives are, and make sure they know what is important to you. If cyberbullying is something you are passionate about stopping, get involved! There are tons of non-profit organizations trying to fight cyberbullying in our schools that we can volunteer with. You can write letters and make phone calls to your senators and congressmen about the issue of cyberbullying.
I personally contacted Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz over the summer along with my Congressman Brian Babin about cyberbullying. While all three ignored my emails, I am hopeful that in the future if enough of their constituents raise the issue, cyberbullying may become a priority for them.
I want positive role models in our government for the next generation to aspire to. I just do not believe the current White House leadership has any intention of becoming that role model, so it’s time to go around him.
Also published on Medium.
