Twitter comments and conversations can get pretty intense sometimes, especially if it’s over a very controversial or divisive topic. While a healthy discussion is a good thing, sometimes people can lose themselves in the heat of the moment and say nasty things to other people who might share an opposing view.
This is why last month Twitter announced a new “Heads Up” feature that basically lets users know they’re about to jump into an intense conversation, and now in the latest update, Twitter has started to test out the feature on its iOS and Android mobile apps. This means that some users should start to see warnings when they’re about to comment on a conversation that is pretty heated or could be heated.
Ever want to know the vibe of a conversation before you join in? We’re testing prompts on Android and iOS that give you a heads up if the convo you’re about to enter could get heated or intense.
This is a work in progress as we learn how to better support healthy conversation. pic.twitter.com/x6Nsn3HPu1
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) October 6, 2021
It is unclear how Twitter will define a post that might generate a heated discussion, such as whether it will be based on the actual topic posted that could possibly lead to an intense conversation amongst Twitter users, or if a topic needs to have generated a lot of comments and replies for it to be considered intense or heated up.
Either way, it’s an interesting tool and it remains to be seen if these types of prompts might encourage Twitter users to be more thoughtful with their comments and replies, especially since there will always be online trolls who purposely try to antagonize others.