Twouble with Twitter

A YouTube video entitled "Twouble with Twitter" is perfectly hilarious. One skeptical young male does not understand the fascination with Twitter, so his friend takes him to the Twittersphere. The twenty-something male smart enough to question the sanity of Twitter's users spends the entire visit to the unrealistic virtual world. He questions why people find it necessary to post every detail of their lives, and chuckles at the idea that people become Twitter celebrities. I am very skeptical of Twitter, and do not understand why people find it necessary to update their tweets multiple times a day. I enjoy Facebook, and I admit I access the site more than is probably healthy; however, I never take the time to post every detail of my life. Twitter takes privacy and mystery away from its users. I never have wondered who my audience is on Twitter, because I know it is only people in my composition class (or more specifically, only my professor) who have any interest in my tweets about what text people wear. As for other online environments where I write, I never feel differently about who may read what I type. However, I am very careful about what I post online. My relationship to people online is similar to my relationship with them in real life, because I use it simply as a means of communication when we cannot physically be together or talk. I primarily only use Facebook, and I am sure to only be friends with people who I actually know in real life. This eliminates any concern about who may be reading what I post.

The animated video presents logical questions about the online world that Twitter creates. Many active users of Twitter detail every minute of their lives in short bursts of 140 characters or less. I would not go as far as to say that Twitter cannot be a valuable tool; however, the way a majority of active tweeters use the site is concerning. Online security continues to become a bigger issue, and posting every minute of your life for any Internet user to read can be really scary. I think the purpose of microblogging is to communicate with friends in an online space, but the actual use of microblogging is quite different. Sites such as Twitter and Tumblr allow anyone to follow your account, so ensuring privacy becomes a challenge. I liked how throughout the entire video the one male remained skeptical, because I think a common misconception today is that every teenager willingly participates in every social media site. Unfortunately, many people do rely on social networking sites to make themselves happy and feel accepted. But an issue with computers is they allow for anyone, anywhere to pretend to be whoever they wish. I'm in the same boat as the skeptical cartoon. Society must be careful what they post for the world to see.