The Social Life: Don't feed online trolls

Bullying is bullying no matter what form it takes. Photo/Thinkstock

Twitter can be unforgiving country.

In yesterday's editorial, I touched on the issue of cyber bullying.

Bullying is bullying, no matter what form it takes, but the modern day phenomenon of online attacks, intimidation and general nastiness has opened up a new world of opportunities for bullies.

And for those who didn't know they had it in them.

People who might be perfectly nice in real life come over all Mr Hyde when they hit Twitter. Those who wouldn't say boo to a goose seem to have no trouble getting into a rabid argument over the most offhand of remarks or throwaway comments.

It's a pity because the Twitterverse can be a perfectly nice place, full of caring and wonderful people. Friendships and even closer relationships are formed between those meeting in Twitter conversations.

Some tweeters use the tool to reach out for help and receive it instantly, while for some praise and recognition from strangers is hugely self-affirming.

You can't necessarily escape Twitter's dark side - anyone can tag you into a post - but your timeline is what you make it, you can protect your tweets, and many people make good use of the block option, cutting off contact with undesirables or abusive types.

One good rule to remember with social media is don't feed the trolls. As the old hip-hop saying goes "Haters gonna hate" - no matter how good your argument is some people can't be told they may be wrong, because they never are. So starve them - do not engage the beast. If you feel they're getting abusive - report them here http://support.twitter.com/forms/abusiveuser.

Twitter is still relatively small. Figures from Adcorp show 2.4 million Facebook users in New Zealand against just 368,000 Twitter users (as at August 2013). But it's a lively population with some fascinating things to say. And if you're a news and opinion junkie like me, you'll find some of the sharpest and most interesting minds in the country.

It may be an unforgiving land, but the Twitterscape is vast and amazing and can be a wonderful place.