The launch of Meta's Threads proves yet again we are too much in awe of the internet | Van Badham

For all the talk about being extremely online', new technology still wields power over us

• Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email

I came to social media to stay in touch with friends and family when I lived overseas. I stayed for its cornucopia of character development opportunities. As this last week has shown, they are on limitless offer.

We all know by now that should you wish to improve your resilience to harassment and abuse, be a woman, express a nuanced political opinion on the internet and - little lady - just you wait.

Van Badham is a Guardian Australia columnist