I feel more vindicated every day that I don’t possess a personal Twitter account. And, no I don’t have an anonymous Eoghan Harris-style one either. If needs be, I’ll sparingly log onto the programme team account to read an article or search for a story. And I hold my nose as I do so. The past few weeks have proved my point. Farmers and environmentalists are at each other’s throats and never the twain shall meet. It’s nasty stuff.

Neither dignity nor decorum exists on Twitter. And how is it that some people can literally spend hours every day looking for reasons to spout negativity and bile? I just don’t get it.

No matter who you are, I don’t believe that the human condition can easily deflect online abuse

We all get frustrated and we are all entitled to our opinion. I am exercising it here right now. But the trolling, name calling and the orchestrated pile on clickbait tactics of Twitter is from another planet.

No matter who you are, I don’t believe that the human condition can easily deflect online abuse. There has to be a mental health consequence to being coldly confronted online. Some professions are more exposed to the vile side of Twitter than others, with journalists among those seen as fair game. On the rare occasion I’ve been a target, I’ve taken the simple supportive advice from my bosses to just ignore it. And I do. But there are times when it is hard especially when you open your phone to a screenshot or text alert relating to some goading tweet or smart comment.

A colleague once remarked that a good measurement of unwarranted criticism or abuse is how long it stays alive

A couple of times where the line had been completely overstepped, I cracked and confronted people. And it’s amazing how timid and apologetic they become when asked to repeat their scurrilous remarks directly. It reassured the notion that keyboard warriors are real life cowards.

A colleague once remarked that a good measurement of unwarranted criticism or abuse is how long it stays alive. In other words, if it doesn’t go viral and dies it means nobody agrees with it, and so is best ignored.

As we have heard from politicians –and indeed journalists in recent times – online abuse comes in all forms from misogyny to death threats which may have spiralled from just one provocative tweet. Teenagers have taken their own lives and black soccer players have resorted to reporting racist posts to the police. As I said, no human mind can easily ignore being targeted online in whatever fashion. But sadly that is Twitter for you – where you sign up to be abused and chastised, sometimes anonymously, whether you deserve it or not.

As a modern-day reporter and journalist, it’s highly unusual not to have a Twitter account and so there are times when I’ve felt at a disadvantage professionally. But having listened to former deputies Noel Rock, Lorraine Higgins and John Halligan tell Brendan O’Connor on RTÉ a few weeks ago about life as a politician on Twitter along with the recent fallout from the Barbara J Pym account rumble, I feel quite reassured of my hunch.

Of course it has its fantastic advantages and benefits

When there is so much we could be doing with our time to make life better for ourselves and those around us, how is it people have all this time to scroll and tweet all day long?

Of course it has its fantastic advantages and benefits. So does a double-decker bus, but not when it’s been driven wrecklessly by unlicenced maniacs at speed up and down a crowded street.

Take my advice, stay off Twitter and you’ll enjoy a healthier life.

Be safe on-farm

Silage-making season is an exciting time on farm for many reasons. But it can also be deadly. One can never be reminded enough of the dangers. Take care out there.