Twitter announced on Tuesday that the days of 30-second video restrictions were now over. Instead, users will be able to tweet videos up to 140 seconds long. Along with this update, Twitter are also introducing a new video viewing mode, making it easier for us to find and watch videos. With the tap of a finger, users will be able to play a video, or swipe onto the next to view more suggestions.
While this update is an exciting new way to explore Twitter, we can't help but wonder why they're not focusing their efforts on online abuse and trolling on the platform. Only this morning it was revealed that Labour MP Yvette Cooper had to call the police after a Twitter troll threatend to 'kill [her] kids and grandkids'in response to her support for the Remain vote in tomorrow's referendum. But she's not the only one. Online trolling is sadly something most women, and men, have experienced at some point or another and with the number of users across social media platforms increasingly rapidly day by day it leaves us open to more scrutiny and abuse, this time in live video form. Instagram announced yesterday that there are now half a billion active users, with more than 300 million people using it a day, and with Twitter users at 310 million, it's plain to see we're all active on social media, but how many of us are being nice to each other while using it?
Twitter’s CEO even released a statement in February 2015 implying that they would work around the clock and triple their staff to put a stop to their online trolling problem. When asked about a leaked memo leaked, CEO Dick Costolo said that they ‘sucked’ at dealing with abuse and trolls, and that it was no secret as the rest of the world talks about it everyday. Yes, we do, and hello it’s June 2016 now and nothing has been done about it. It’s apparent in this study conducted in May by UK think tank Demos. They discovered that across three weeks of tweets, 6, 500 different users on Twitter were targeted by 10, 000 tweets containing words like “slut” and “whore”– these also contained aggressive and sexist messages and 50% of the senders were female.
So, while it's great that Twitter want to make our user experience better with video and easier access to content, that's not what we're after. We're after a safer online social platform, where we can tweet as and when we wish without being hurled with abusive comments from people we've never met. A lot can be said in 140 seconds, serious damage can be done and while we know not to listen words – they do actually hurt – especially when they might be targeted in a direct video.
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Follow Alyss on Twitter @alyssbowen
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.