NJ senator punished by Twitter should quit the platform (Opinion)

Republican state Sen. Declan O'Scanlon got a taste of what it was like to have his case adjudicated by the judge, jury and executioner that is social media. Namely, Twitter.

When Declan O'Scanlon posted an opinion about vaccine passports that did not go along with the leftist agenda of the social media giants, he was suspended from the platform. O'Scanlon learned his lesson and took his lumps. But he learned the wrong lesson.

Here's what the state senator had to say in his tweet:

Given that we have crushed Covid with (a) combination of natural immunity and voluntary uptake there is no reason anyone should be compelled to take the vaccine. Restrictions/mandates/vaccine passports all uncalled for

Rather than coming back to Twitter, entering discussions with them about why he was suspended and continuing to fight for his “First Amendment rights," Sen. O'Scanlon should consider this: The rules are different in the “Twitterverse,” and on social media in general.

O'Scanlon thinks we should all fight against the censorship that is rampant on social media. But that is the wrong tack. The point is that there is NO WAY to fight against it.

When you were young and you went to play in your friend Billy's backyard, if he instituted a rule that allowed him to go first every time, you follow that rule. Whether it was right or wrong. It was Billy's house and Billy's rule. Social media is the same.

Twitter is big tech’s giant sandbox and if you don’t play by its rules you can take your ball and go home. That’s why it’s so frightening to have so many people's lives, not to mention livelihoods, dependent on it.

I know several businesses who have actually become extremely successful without any social media at all. Yes, it has been a challenge. And it probably took them longer to become successful. And they probably had to find different/creative ways to build customer loyalty and awareness without it. Maybe even using the old fashioned, pre-social media methods.

But I firmly believe that if you live by social media then you also have to die by social media and that’s a risk we all take by depending on it way too much.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco. Any opinions expressed are Judi Franco’s own.