Twitter-fied
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 6:55PM MAD21 By Kelly
Twitter: one of the many new online social crazes that allows an individual to update their "status" in less than 140 words via their phones and/or computers, etc. About two weeks ago, I decided to jump on the Twitter train. I was curious to see what all the fuss was about. Everyone from my sister to Miley Cyrus to- get this- Folger's coffee. Crazy, if you ask me. I played around and came to the conclusion that I did not really need Twitter; it was impractical in my texting-free cell usage, and I didn't need another online distraction, honestly. So I bade Farewell to Twitter. I don't think it misses me.
Regardless of my short time with Twitter, it has made me think about all these online communication sites. Never before have we been privy to direct access into the lifestyles of the famous and not-so-famous. In an article from Relevant Magazine, Adam Smith discusses the impact sites such as Twitter have on our culture. More importantly, what does it say about our culture and about ourselves? After reading this article, I found myself really struck by one question. What is the motivation for spending time on websites like Twitter, Facebook, or blogs? Are they mere time-killers? I certainly have killed time on Facebook in the past, much to the dismay of my nursing studies. Is it an opportunity to share in community? After all, it connects you to new friends and old - even Mom! Or is it the need to rack up self-value points according to how many messages I receive in a day? There is something that sparks momentary joy when I see a "new message" posted on my wall or on photos. What propels us to check out the online world every five minutes during the day? Is it to feel justified and valued by people's responses? It all seems so innocent, and, most of the time, it is. But where is the line drawn? When does the online world of relationships and expression hinder those of the REAL world?
Something like 90% of our communication is non-verbal. With that in mind, I had to stop to consider what the online world does to our communication as individuals. How can you read emotion through a computer screen? What is truly communicated when a person cannot hold a face-to-face conversation without texting or twittering simultaneously? The deepest need of every individual is to be heard, to be acknowledged. This takes active listening, a practice of removing thoughts of self during conversation to hear, process, and help the other person feel acknowledged, cared for, and heard. I can't help but see the irony here: Sites like these aim to increase the ability to communicate, but I can't help but think that it's really just communication on steroids. Quick benefit, impressive results, but also has the potential to be very damaging and harmful.
Communication was never easy, and it never will be easy. It takes some blood, sweat, and tears to train ourselves to be effective communicators. We must exercise good judgment in what we dedicate time to; we must choose moderation for what we take in. Communication is a daily discipline, and you can use it or abuse it. Facebook and Twitter and other sites can either be adjuncts to healthy communication in the real world, or they can foster in-genuine, self-centered communication. As Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, "'Everything is permissible'-but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'-but not everything is constructive." (1 Cor 10:23) Everything has the potential to build up or tear down. Even Twitter.
communication, twitter in Technology
Reader Comments (4)
An additional thought: My dad says that texting can work the same way. He says receiving a text is like constant affirmation.
"Ooh! I got a text! Someone cares about me! I'm affirmed."
It seemed to be sort of silly theory at first, b/c I don't generally text with the purpose of affirming people. But when I stop to think about how hearing that little beep makes me feel, I began to see his point.
I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with twitter or facebook or texting, etc. but "everything in moderation" is a GREAT rule to live by in our consumer-driven, ME ME ME American culture.
I enjoyed your article, I think you make some solid points, and thought that I might try to defend the other side a bit more.
First I'd like to say that I am currently not apart of the Twitter community, however I have considered several times about joining, but at the end of the day I end up deciding against each time. To me I see Twitter as more of a fad, as we have seen in the past with pogs, pocket pets, and beepers. I would say its most similar to the fad of the beeper, in that both forms of communication are very one demential which will lead to its downfall.
With twitter you can only really express yourself in only 140 characteristics, to me thats just not enough. People dont just want sentence updates about your life. They want to see pictures, They want to know your opinions. They want to see who your dating, how you spent your weekend and what your views on life are. These are the elements that make Facebook superior to Twitter.
Another thing that will lead to Twitters failure is that they are never going to be able to get out of being compared to facebook. As a result of this relationship, twitter is going to fall into the trap of become more like facebook, losing its only uniqueness. Eventually, twitter is going to believe it will need to offer it customers more. Twitter gained a lot of its popularity though its ease to update through texting ability, but this is a feature that Facebook can easily and already can do.
I'll try to get back to the point of your article. I thought I would just back fill a bit with the difference between twitter and facebook.
Kelly, you talk a lot about getting away from real world communication, but you have to ask yourself would that communication exist if Facebook wasn't there? No one would disagree with you that nothing compares to real face to face contact, but what do you do when that isnt an option.
A lot of this issue comes down to time. While I would agree that I waste my share of time on facebook. I dont have the time to have conversation to give updates to all of my friends across the world, and I think that facebook makes for a good substitute to that. Personally, I consider myself blessed if my schedule and my best friends schedule works out well enough to have a 15 minute phone conversation.
If anything, I think its brings us closer, I am able to share the beautiful sunset I saw in the morning on the way to work with people that live 300+ miles away from me, or tell them how I feel about a concert I saw the other evening. In a way it is a giant scrapbook of my life, that I dont want to lose. Just a few weeks ago I was able to use facebook to catch my friend up on the 6 months she missed while she was away in Asia, which out it I would just have stories, but through facebook it brought those six months to life.
A GREAT article to check out on how to use Twitter WELL: Following Conversations - Not People - On Twitter: http://www.flowerdust.net/2009/04/21/following-conversations-not-people-on-twitter/
Twitter's getting all kinds of press these days... here's one of the latest: Twittering in Church, with the Pastor's O.K: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1895463,00.html
I think there's plenty of room for technology to be integrated into worship, especially in larger churches where it's hard for the pastor to get everyone's feedback and thoughts about the sermon, etc. But there is also a strong part of me that thinks "Sunday worship may not be the place for this" if it's so public. That worship is sacred, and also supposed to be focused on GOD, not us.