How bad will social media get before we all leave?

I really wonder why it is that public figures like Meghan Markle or Erin Molan, who are subjected to horrendous abuse every day on various social media platforms, continue to engage at all, writes Claire Harvey.

Nobody has ever convinced anyone of anything on social media. It’s not the place.

Attempting to persuade someone to your point of view on a platform like Facebook or Twitter is like trying to explain yourself on the jumping castle at a children’s birthday party while dressed as a party clown — even the people who can hear your words don’t think they’re worth listening to.

Or, perhaps, it’s like sitting on a stage at the Sydney Writers’ Festival as an employee of News Corp before an audience who have never read one of our publications but who are firmly convinced we are lower than a non-biodegradable plastic straw at the bottom of a compost heap.

RENDEZVIEW: Social media is a royal mess

That was me on Friday — in my capacity as the deputy chair of the wonderful Walkley Foundation, I hosted a panel discussion about court suppressions on the free press before an audience who I suspect would have cheerfully burnt my effigy if they’d realised who I worked for.

How Meghan Markle endures the hatred and vitriol on social media, I have no idea. Picture: AP/Frank Augstein

I was not among my people, and I knew there was no point even attempting to point out that

I’m proud to work for an organisation that publishes my work alongside that of Andrew Bolt or any of the other columnists with whom I disagree about almost everything. If you never invest in a Tele subscription, you’d never know we publish the broadest range of opinion and commentary in the Australian media, bar none. In my view, when you find yourself in a hostile environment, it’s better to try to maintain your dignity rather than beg for approval or try to convince anyone you’re a really nice person.

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Which is why I’ve completely withdrawn from Twitter — the dirtiest bare-knuckle fight in the West — where nothing is taken at face value and nobody is given the benefit of the doubt. So I really wonder why public figures like Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, or Erin Molan, who are subjected to horrendous abuse every day on various social media platforms, continue to engage at all.

Meghan Markle has been bombarded with racist hatred, and yet she reportedly continues to post on Instagram. Why? I suspect because she’s addicted to the little rush of love you get every time someone likes your post or comments on how amazing you are. That’s not enough to balance out the horror, I think.

Erin Molan’s worst troll said he hoped she died and that her beloved daughter would be stillborn. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Our superstar sports journalist Jessica Halloran has an exclusive about Erin Molan’s decision to take on one of her worst trolls. She complained to police about a man who was telling her every day on Facebook he wanted her to die and hoped her baby would be stillborn, and he was convicted of using a carriage service to harass her. He was convicted, fined and placed on a good behaviour bond.

RELATED: The horrendous abuse that’s just part of my life

Erin Molan continues to engage on social media although she has deleted Facebook — and I admire her for having the courage to stand her ground — but I really wonder whether it’s worth her precious time. Any moment when you’re scrolling through a news feed and reading horrendous insults about yourself is a moment stolen from your family and your own peaceful enjoyment of life.

It’s not worth it. I think Erin is a brave and talented woman, but I hope for her own sake she decides before too long to step back.

It’s clear the social media platforms have no ability to protect their users from nastiness. For public figures such as Erin surely the wisest course must be to protect themselves. When there are no boundaries, nobody wins.