How a simple towel rekindled my love for Twitter

The social media platform is best for silly but surprisingly instructive debate, writes Will Gore. This week, how often do you wash your towels?

As my wife slumbers beside me, I stare at my phone screen, reloading and reloading, desperate to recover that sense of connection (PA)

Once upon a time I loved Twitter. Now, thanks to the change of management, it’s plainly a bit of a mess. But I’ve not fully changed my behaviour. I still scroll through, waiting to see something relevant or someone recognisable (other than Elon). At night, as my wife slumbers beside me, I stare at my phone screen, reloading and reloading, desperate to recover that sense of connection.

I should give it up, I know. But then every once in a while, there is a nugget of something golden. This week, it was towels. Roman Kemp, broadcaster and son of 1980s icons Martin and Shirlie, had posted a seemingly innocuous question about how often a towel should be reused before it was washed. In response came a stream of impassioned replies, which snowballed as it became clear views on this critical subject diverge dramatically.

Startlingly, a very common position seemed to be that towels ought to be washed daily, or even more than that. Other people, outraged at such profligacy, argued for a weekly change. This is the kind of insight I want from Twitter: silly but surprisingly instructive debate about an issue of universal experience but questionable importance. It made me chuckle, but it also left me wondering about my own and other people’s behaviour.