[iamatworknow]

This is a lesson I learned a long time ago -- don't define your identity or personal value on a public online service. It will always, always come back to bite you in the ass in one way or another.

A fun way to pass the time, yeah. A way to keep current with what's going on in the real time, sure. But the more personally invested you are in such a thing and the more you open up your private life and thoughts to strangers, the more devastated you will be when things go south.

[epistasis]

I think we're talking about different things here. I mean to refer to an online identity, a way to talk to people about a certain topic. It can be professional, commercial, political, or personal. Many people have several online identities, to talk about different topics, and they're not attached to the personal side at all.

Of course, even if it's not a personal identity, that's not enough to stop certain people from attacking the Twitter user's personal life.

You seem to be arguing to not use Twitter, which is just fine, I don't think it's necessary at all in my life. But I think a lot of people find a lot of value in the platform, and when there's something of value, I can see why a lot of people would rather try to keep Twitter useful rather than just abandon it entirely.