To the Editor:

I’d like to thank Daniel Dicker for his letter “Turbulence On Twitter Tanks Stocks” and for analyzing how twitter can have financial impacts, in this case on the Tesla stock price. Twitter, Facebook, and other electronic apps are very recent additions to how our society communicates. People get a lot of pleasure and fun from these, even though Elon (Musk) went a little overboard. Their impact reaches into our everyday lives in many ways.

One other area of concern is the federal government. High-level officials in both the executive and legislative branches use Twitter every day. Some agencies have even designated tweets as official statements. With 280 or so key strokes, messages pour forth. The problem is that policy and politics are often completely intertwined. Political polarization and hard feelings can almost instantly sweep across our country. These negative effects are potentially a much larger problem than the valuation of a large company.

Since Twitter is such a new tool, maybe it can evolve towards a more positive role, to inform our citizens and not to divide us.

Sincerely,

Peter Van Buskirk

18 Poverty Hollow Road, Newtown         April 10, 2019