In this Arc Conversation, I talk to internet commentator Christoph about our online lives, religion and “wokeism,” the aesthetics of soccer, legacy media, and more.

Berny Belvedere

Why are you anonymous on Twitter? Without self-doxxing, tell us everything you can about yourself—well, everything that a follower of yours might find interesting.

Christoph

“I’m anonymous because I’m afraid of being canceled” might be a bit too on-the-nose, but it’s nice to be able to express the odd unpopular opinion without worrying about anyone trying to contact my employer. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but eight out of 10 people on Twitter are weird and unstable and obsessive. 

I live in Australia but I’m not overly interested in our local politics and spend a lot more time following what happens internationally. I have an Indonesian background and I work as an educator and counselor. A lot of my work involves helping people to challenge their own bullshit and not fall into unhelpful ways of thinking, and I suppose that tells you a bit about what fascinates me about Twitter. As much as Twitter is not exactly real life, it’s an incredible showcase of the thought traps that people fall into.  

I also like cooking, gardening, soccer, and chasing after my toddler. All of which demand a lot of my time and are far more rewarding than watching society destroy itself on Twitter. And yet… 

Berny Belvedere

Speaking of Twitter, what’s one design feature that, from an individual user standpoint, you would change to make the site better?

Christoph

Twitter Safety is bullshit, frankly.

Clearly you want there to be something in place that puts some limits on