6 of 12: Social Media May Just Be Our New Personal Communication

The parody "Twouble with Twitter" raises many intriguing questions about Twitter. The animation uses satire to ridicule how crazy many of us can be with microblogging, posting short tweets to update where we are or what we are doing. I honestly believe that Twitter is an excellent social media website; however, millions of users have become too obsessed. 

Why do we feel the necessity to tell everyone who reads our tweets what we are doing or so much about our life? Is spilling our lives to the whole world part of the Twenty-First Century? In fact, I wonder if most people who tweet about their personal lives are really this expressive in person. I know I would rather call one of my friends and talk to him or her, like the animation suggests. I do not think it is necessary to tweet everything about our lives. We do not completely know who is reading what we are tweeting and even if we have our twitters private, those following us on Twitter could be sharing our personal tweets with others. 

While it may not be an immense issue to consider, is our generation courageous or not? We post personal information online for many people to see, which is definitely bold, yet in person we hide this information from others. The more important statement to notice is that Twitter is allowing those who normally may never express their opinions to feel like they can. Therefore, Twitter can be seen as a significant way for someone to be personal without being afraid. 

Furthermore, if we look at the progression of technological communication, we can notice an interesting pattern. Instant messaging began as a great way to communicate, which led to a more mobile form known as texting. Then Facebook became popular so that people could share information, on a less personal basis though. Finally, Twitter is now popular too. What do these advancements mean for the writing space?                
                                                         
These social, electronic advancements are also important for our generation because everyone goes on these websites. It almost appears that someone who does not text, use Facebook or Twitter will most-likely feel secluded or "not connected to the world". However, should it be the other way around? By using our phones or going online all the time, how do we have time to hangout with our friends in person to really connect with them? When we tweet every ten minutes, are we looking for attention, simply addicted to Twitter, or do we feel like we need to go on these social medias to stay hip and connected with our friends? Should we need to think we are pressured to go on to Twitter to feel connected to the world? 

Nevertheless, while I do not agree with microblogging, it may just be a form of communication in our present-day society and (maybe ironically) the way that some people can be personal. The writing space has to advance and transform with our progressing civilization, but is Twitter the most appropriate change to the writing space of the Twenty-First Century? I guess until someone else reinvents a more popular writing space, we should just optimistically accept the microbloggers on Twitter.