As someone who uses social media daily, perhaps more accurately, hourly, both for work and political purposes, you might argue that I am a fine one to talk.
Social media can be an extremely powerful tool when used properly. It allows elected representatives to communicate directly with residents, explain decisions, share updates and listen to concerns. Used responsibly, it enhances transparency and accountability.
But it also has a darker side.
Increasingly, some individuals use social media not to represent the communities that elected them, but to provoke. They post deliberately inflammatory remarks, dismiss serious issues with casual cruelty, and court outrage by design. This is not accidental. It is calculated.
What makes this behaviour especially troubling is that it is no longer just about attention, it is about money.
Many social media platforms now reward engagement financially. The more comments, shares and reactions a post generates, the more income it can produce. Anger performs better than reason. Division pays better than public service. And so, for some, rage has become a business model.
This is where the behaviour becomes unacceptable when it comes from elected officials.
Councillors, receive an allowance which is paid by the taxpayer to represent their communities, to deal with casework, to attend meetings, to work with officers and partners, and to solve real, local problems. They are not paid to spend their days manufacturing outrage online in pursuit of a few extra pounds.
When an elected representative shows far more enthusiasm for posting daily rage-bait than for doing the job they were elected to do, it raises serious questions about priorities. Particularly when those posts target vulnerable groups, trivialise serious issues, or inflame division for clicks and cash.
The problem is compounded by the lack of accountability. You cannot sack an elected politician for neglecting their duties in favour of monetised social media content. Until the next election, they are free to continue treating public office as a personal revenue stream, regardless of the damage caused.
We have seen this play out recently more and more, where deliberately nasty and inflammatory posts appear designed less to contribute to debate and more to drive engagement and income.
Residents deserve better. Public office should never be reduced to a side hustle built on outrage. Those elected should remember that their salary comes from the public purse, and that public service is supposed to be exactly that.
