Twitter is a microblogger’s paradise, built by milky reposts and honey coated trending topics. If tweetliness is next to godliness, give me wings now. I have woken up, clutched my phone, and given several hundred people my first comprehensible thought of the day. Twitter is a social crutch and daily habit.
My thumbs participate in and start trending topics ranging from ideal spouses, politics, natural hair, gangster rap, poetry, racial injustices, mascara to whatever else complements my undiagnosed A.D.D.
The instinct to constantly share is not inherently dangerous, but it can be. It can also be somewhat creepy.
The Man is watching me. Or something.
Twitter research from Carnegie Mellon University parallels public poll results.
It found that the site gives quick opinions about a variety of topics.
That is not the intriguing part; but, the fact that I fit into a demographic whose social media habits are subjects of study is intriguing.
I am a Black woman who tweets as if it pays my bills.
In a sense, I profit from Twitter because I repost links of works that I receive compensation to produce.
Twitter is not just an exercise in ideological vanity. It is a brand builder and conveyor of identity.
If tweets are a manifestation of our thoughts and thoughts are reflective of and collaborative with our actions, then those little messages make profound daily statements about who we are (or pretend to be).
That is especially true for Black people, who disproportionately use the site compared with other groups. We compose a quarter of the site’s users, according to www.businessinsider.com.
However, our aerobic thumbs are not in vain. Twitter gives us instant news, gossip and ideas.
With 140 character ruminations, Twitter is an attractive alternative to Facebook, and its ever-evolving privacy settings, ads and habitual freezes.
Nevertheless, tweeters are simply too comfortable now. People “lock” their pages and lose their minds.
Some of the shiest people I know have the crunkest fingertips and unconscious minds ever, as evidenced by their tweets.
Everything from salsa to Swedes and sadomasochism can pop up at anytime. Yes, Twitter is a weirdo fest.
The quirkier the posts, the wider the network. People who post their idiosyncrasies receive a reward in additional followers. Followers improve self-esteem.
With numerous users at one’s disposal, some people become e-celebrities, and revel in the acceptance that they experience whenever they log in.
It is a sporadic sub-culture, which is becoming more structured.
Many tweeters participate in a weekly heathen to holy continuum.
Without fail, potty tweeters douse their timelines with anointing every Sunday and resume four letter words and “subtweets” (implied messages typically directed at someone in their follower’s list) every other day.
Too much technology appears to tamper with common sense.
People text, tweet and status update ideas that they would not vocalize in face-to-face settings.
Even so, all that freedom of speech is not without consequences.
The Library of Congress, which is our country’s “oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress,” began containing tweets from March 2006.
The tweets being held are public tweets; but, if someone manually retweets (reposts) a private tweet, it can go to the Library of Congress.
Also, not all retweets appear in the “retweets by you” option. So it is possible to lock one’s page and still have tweets retrieved.
If the idea is questionable, it might not belong in cyberspace or on Twitter.
Additionally, employers do delve into our e-lives, as I learned a couple summers ago while participating in training with a notable diversity organization.
The faces of the operation told participants that we were personally meritorious, but also chosen because they could not find e-dirt on us.
By no means do I want to take the random, quirky essence out of Twitter usage.
I still get pumped about award shows or gatherings where something noteworthy is bound to occur.
And I do share information with my network; but, knowing that the world’s largest library has my thoughts, keeps me from tweeting everything.
“Most of the information you provide to us is information you are asking us to make public,” according to Twitter’s web site.
“We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time .
“By continuing to access or use the Services after those changes become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Privacy Policy.”
Twitter is not the land of brimstone blog sites; but, the wrong strokes can cause eternal damage.
Follow me at www.twitter.com/faithspeaks.
Imani Jackson is a senior mass communication major from Jacksonville, Fla.