Last night I re-activated my Twitter account. Quite why I cannot say, but all of a sudden it seemed to be the best idea in the world to do so. And Twitter, despite warnings when you leave, make it really easy to rejoin, in fact they even retain your old followers. So there I was, sitting expectantly in front of my screen, thinking that 6 months away would make me cool, and that I'd be welcomed back with a deafening roar. And then Twitter popped back onto the screen.You know that feeling you get when you go back to your parents house and your old bedroom after being away ? How it all seems so rooted in the past, so small and faintly ridiculous ? It was just like that. Suddenly I saw the latest comments of people that I'd been following previously and they hadn't changed a bit. Sadly.
I quickly realised that this world, where once I felt so at ease, was now a foreign place to me. Where previously I'd seen a great purpose to be had from stating every random thought that came into my mind, now it just seemed plain stupid. Within 5 minutes of re-activating my account I had deleted it once more, hoping that no-one had noticed that I'd been there at all as I'd tiptoed away in shame. I realised that I'd been right all along. Twitter is pointless, self-indulgent and encourages egotism. It really doesn't matter what people are eating for dinner all over the world, what they did today or who they fancy. If ever we want to listen to endless trivia we only need listen to our own thoughts, they are just the same as reading Twitter but at least they aren't published on a world wide scale.
Twitter is naval gazing take to its apotheosis, where people kid themselves that their innermost thoughts are of interest to anyone but themselves. And where celebrities demonstrate how painfully ordinary, tedious and unremarkable they really are. None of us should go on it, it only shows us up. And it also proves that there are some limits to the internet culture that we're all so proud of. When time is wasted this elaborately and on such a grand scale, it really is time to switch off the damn computer, go out into the fresh air and see some real damn people !
3 comments:
OMG don't do it, I have never looked back since nixing it too!
I did not get Twitter from the beginning. It's as if you're standing in a room full of people, everyone talking a once, and you're trying to keep track of a thread of conversation. I just don't get it, and most of the comments are so inane. Imagine if we talked like this in real life. We limited our statements to 140 charactors and we called people on the phone to say things like 'Spinach for supper!' 'I'm off to walk the dog!' Or 'I'm going to brush my teeth and head for bed' or 'I slept late this morning'. It wouldn't take us long to shriek, "For the love of God, who cares?!!!! And quit calling me!"
I shall not go back ladies, have no fear. One brief look into the horror was enough to remind me why I got sick of it in the first place.
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