Neville Southall tackles... The toxicity of Twitter
- Text by Neville Southall
- Illustrations by Laurene Boglio
I have found being on Twitter good, bad and just plain ugly all at the same time. I thought originally it would be nice to have a good connection with a lot of Everton fans. It has turned into something completely different, and 95% enjoyable.
The good thing Twitter does for me is it limits the stuff I can say, so for me that is good as once I make a point I do tend to drone on a bit. My brain works like Twitter: short sharp bursts of thought. People think I write poetry, but really I put down how I think in short sharp bursts of ok stuff, followed by mostly inane rubbish.
I have met some brilliant people on Twitter and had great advice. I started looking at LGBTQ+ people’s tweets as I work in a school and wondered what would happen if any kids asked me about any LGBTQ+ issues, and unfortunately I had no idea. Luckily I found a couple of fantastic people who gave me a much better understanding of what it is like to be in that community.
They also passed me on to others who made me realise how little I knew about how kids come out and the amount of abuse they can get. I know a few trans women on Twitter, and talking to them made me aware of what horrible times they can have while coping with transitions and bigotry in society.
This is just to annoy any smurfs or turfs or whatever they are called
Some of the best people I have met on here are trans people
They have lots of shit to put up with but show lots of dignity doing it— Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) April 11, 2018
I have become an ambassador for one LGBTQ+ supporters club for Everton, and an LGBTQ+ charity. There is still terrible ignorance about the LGBTQ+ world, especially in football and that needs breaking down. I am determined to help make that happen.
I have also met some great people who work with homeless people, and I found the stigma around them again to be pure ignorance. We cannot accept homelessness in this day and age. It is fixable if governments get their heads together and stop pretending they cannot do anything.
The other issues I deal with are mental health, which again is a massive problem. Cutting the funding available is actually killing people, I want to help change way we do things in the UK.
I want to take the fight to the Tories as I believe they are deliberately cutting funding to the poorest and want rid of them.
It is now that I go into the negative side of Twitter. I have recently let a sex worker group take over my Twitter to help their cause, and the amount of abuse I have got is ugly. It is all because I have given them a platform to raise awareness about their struggle – these people want workers rights to keep themselves safe. This has resulted in people having a real go at me with personal abuse, but it has just made me more determined than ever to help out groups of people who never get a chance to talk or be listened to by our society.
Get back in goal, you thick binman.
— Ann Timpson Hay (@TimpsonHay) April 10, 2018
I believe Twitter can be used for good, but obviously a lot of the time it is faceless cowards who are not interested in anything than just abusing people.
The funny thing is it is my Twitter page, but so many want to tell me what opinions to have. I find it fascinating they believe what I put on there is not my opinion and I must change it to theirs. Also, out there are groups of people who think theirs is the only opinion that matters, even when people on the shop floor are telling them what they need they still completely ignore it.
Just while I am upsetting people
I think LGBT people are great
I support labour
I support NHS
Want sex workers to get what they want to keep them safe
I hate racism
Hate domestic violence
Hate the fact we have any homeless
Hate mental health cuts— Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) April 10, 2018
Social media can help lots of people stay in contact, and knowing what I know now this contact can actually save lives. I have learnt a lot on Twitter, and want to continue to learn.
If you disagree with me in what I say then let’s have a discussion because I am happy to be convinced differently. Shouting abuse into the internet will not do anyone any good. I think everyone probably knows that already, so I don’t know why people keep doing it.
I hope Twitter can help me help a lot of people.
Neville
Follow Neville Southall on Twitter.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Artifaxing: “We’ve become so addicted to these supercomputers in our hands”
Framing the future — Predominantly publishing on Instagram and X, the account is one of social media’s most prominent archiving pages. We caught up with the mysterious figure behind it to chat about the internet’s past, present and future, finding inspiration and art in the age of AI.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Clavicular isn’t interesting, really
Dreaming Small — The ‘looksmaxxer’ of the moment has garnered widespread furore over recent controversies. But newsletter columnist Emma Garland asks whether the 20-year-old influencer is actually doing anything that new, and what his rise says about modern turbo-nostalgia’s internet dominance.
Written by: Emma Garland
Riding out with Mac & Matteo
Warm shoulder — Cycling around London with his cat on his shoulder, balaclava-donning youth worker Mac is challenging society’s perceptions of people who look and dress like him. Molly Lipson chats to him about trauma, fatherhood and using his platform as a feline influencer for good.
Written by: Molly Lipson
Inside the shadowy, booming underground world of Urbex
Touching bricks — Spurred by social media success and a desire to live in the physical world, a new generation of teenagers and young people are sneaking into abandoned buildings and documenting their discoveries. Letty Cole goes fence-jumping with two Urbexers to find out more, and gets chased by security in the process.
Written by: Letty Cole
How skateboarding and punk combined to create a radical, rebellious movement
Don’t forget the streets — The sport’s intersectional romance with subcultures and their music can be a complicated maze. The deeper into the labyrinth, the more inextricable the two forces appear to be.
Written by: Cullen Poythress
With The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift has entered her slop era
Huck’s monthly dispatch — The pop giant’s latest album landed with big fanfare but little impact. Against the toll of superstardom and years of consistent output, as well as accusations of AI usage, newsletter columnist Emma Garland asks: has Taylor Swift lost her touch?
Written by: Emma Garland
