Lessons We Should Learn From Twitter
Author: DavidJones // Category: Ethics, Family, Pop Culture, Youth Culture
Lessons We Should Learn From Twitter…
1. Even Celebrities Are People Too…
Twitter has allowed us to bring celebrities down to our level. We find out what John Mayer is thinking at 1 AM, we get to hear Shaq’s thoughts on life, and also get to find out what Ashton Kutcher ate for dinner. In many ways Twitter humanizes everything for us.
2. …But We’re Not Quite as Special or Popular as We Sometimes Think We Are
Sometimes we get into the mindset that there are millions of people who are just waiting to get our tweets. We’d like to think people are lining up around the block just to catch what we will say next. We want people to think of us as the “Dark Knight” of Twitter…high anticipation. The truth is, most of your stuff probably doesn’t get read. If it does, it’s probably not getting ready by the people you want it to be read by. Just because you send a Tweet doesn’t mean all of America wants to see it or cares to see it. You ate a tuna sandwich today? Great. But I doubt too many people care. You may reply to Jimmy Fallon or Demi Moore, but do you really think they care or know what you have to say? Maybe they’re not selfish people, but when someone has 200,000 followers, you’re gonna get lost in the background. Don’t let Twitter make you think too highly of yourself.
3. There IS such a thing as TMI.
I don’t need to know every detail about your life. I especially don’t need to know the gross, disgusting, personal details. If you wouldn’t say it to your boss or pastor, please don’t say it to the rest of the world. Also, if you’re going to go on vacation, it might be better if you decline to tell the world where you’re going, how long you’ll be gone, the location of your house, and how your security system quit working yesterday.
4. EVERYONE Has a Blog (and most of them are mediocre)
Is this the pot calling the kettle black? You betcha! The truth is, everyone has a blog these days. I want readers, you want readers, Curt Schilling wants readers, everyone wants readers. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with wanting people to read your opinions. But just remember…it’s 2009. Having a blog is not like having a column for the New York Times. There’s no need to brag or remind us every 5 seconds of your link.
5. We All Want to Be Liked and Loved
Do we Tweet to create a person journal of statements that are less than 140 characters? No. We Tweet because we want people to like us and love us. Why? Because we all have a desire to be liked and loved and share our stories and findings with the rest of the world.
6. We Have Selfish Tendencies
This one is no fun, but it’s true. We often have the mentality that says “Oh! I’ll follow this person and hope he or she will follow me.” Do we care about the person we’re following? Eh, sometimes. Do we simply follow someone in hopes that he or she will follow us and bring more attention to us? It’s possible!
7. Our Speling and Grammar Is Awful
I know Twitter is a nice “on the go” piece of technology, but seriously people, proofread your tweets. Unfortunately it seems like athletes are the worst. This just fuels the stereotype that some athletes have no intelligence and get by on skill alone.
8. Our Lives Are Consumed By Technology
Twenty years ago you had to use a house phone or pay phone to make a phone call. Now you can text, tweet, or call from inside a bathroom stall. Unfortunately we often let this consume too much of our lives. Technology isn’t bad in and of itself. But when we let it take over our lives, it means that we’re sacrificing something else and replacing it with our new technology. Hopefully the things we sacrifice don’t include time with family, time with friends, time spent reading, time spent praying, etc.
June 29th, 2009 at 7:30 am
#8 gets two thumbs up.
I Twitter. I facebook. I blog. But, I wish I could have more interpersonal relationships with people, instead of just through a computer screen, or even cell phone.