Want To Be Left Alone On Twitter? Company Is Testing 'Unmention' Feature For Unwanted Tags
Tired of unwanted mentions and tags on Twitter? The social media giant has heard the complaints and has announced it is working on a new feature that will let users "protect their peace" from random mentions on the platform.
On Thursday, Twitter said on one of its official accounts that it was experimenting with the feature it called "Unmentioning," which would allow a user to remove themselves from a conversation that they do not want to be included in.
This move was confirmed by Twitter’s Head of Consumer Product Jay Sullivan in a tweet that included a GIF that detailed how the company envisioned the Unmentioning feature will function.
“More to come!” wrote Sullivan.
Harassment on social media has been a persistent problem for companies as they try to achieve a balance of open debate and safety against abuse in their content moderation policies.
Studies have shown that online bullying and harassment has been widespread. Last year, a survey from the Pew Research Center found that about one in four American adults were the victims of some level of online harassment. For teenagers and young adults, a survey from last year from the anti-bullying nonprofit the CyberSmile Foundation found that 62% of young adults reported being bullied online.
The level of harassment has been particularly acute when broken down into smaller groups.
For example, a 2018 report by Amnesty International, studying online abuse against women journalists and politicians from the U.K. and U.S., found one woman was harassed on Twitter about every 30 seconds. A second investigation by the Center for Countering Digital Hate detailed how even highly prominent women were bombareded on Instagram with "harassment, violent threats, and image-based sexual abuse" that was left unaddressed by the site.
For its part, Twitter makes clear that it forbids any targeted abuse against individuals on the platform and has shared resources for users on how to protect themselves against harassment.
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.