In this day and age, social media has pretty much infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives, for better or worse. Unless you’re living under a rock, it feels nearly impossible to avoid being sucked into the deep hole that is the internet, where everything is shared with everyone. Often times this comes with its drawbacks, as one is exposed to the opinions of millions of other users. Mark Hamill learned that lesson the hard way, and is now wiser for it.
Very recently, the voice actor has been put on blast for liking one of J.K. Rowling’s transphobic tweets, but has since then offered a diplomatic explanation for the situation. Defending himself, Hamill claimed that “Twitter is, unfortunately, no place for nuance,” a thought that seems to have stuck with him until now. Almost exactly a week after the incident, Hamill decided to share with his Twitter followers the secret to achieving success on the platform, by sharing an anonymous quote.
According to him, while keeping one’s thoughts to themselves might be an intelligent decision to make, it is also the direct opposite of what it takes to thrive online.
It’s hard not to agree with the actor, considering that controversial opinions and thoughts are the best way to get clout on social media. There are plenty of online personalities that will do and say anything for engagement, and despite how annoying some users might find that, it’s a formula that works.
In fairness, on a platform like Twitter, where everyone is always at the ready, waiting for something to disagree with, this is a fairly easy task to accomplish. All you have to do is speak, and you’ll have a handful of users at your throat.