Like what it was mentioned in the article, Twitter changed the way we live. Now, everyone will use Twitter to update status like "reach home now" "eating now" "this place feels so nice!" etc etc to let people know what are they doing. But do you think that back then, people will figure out how to send a message to everyone of his friend just to tell them what he is eating right now?
In my opinion, now that majority is in Twitter, they tend to update things that are supposed to be private. For instance, what is he/she is doing, where is he/she now, what happened to her/him recently. But in fact, these are the things that are suppose to be private. And, like what's it is mentioned in the article, because of these updates that are posted up on Twitter,
we don't think it at all moronic to start a phone call with a friend by asking how her day is going. Twitter gives you the same information without you even having to ask
Which also will eventually lead to lack of communication among friends.
Look, when one get to know everything about you on Twitter, do you think she/he still bother to ask you again? A friend that haven't meet for ages, the conversation might turn out like
:Hey! Long time no see! How are you?
to
:Hey! So how was your trip to Melacca yesterday?
It disclose too many things about a person to the whole world. Yet, everyone is enjoying it. Even thou it's just a tiny matter like what you ate this morning as breakfast and ended up be an interesting topic right now.
I like how Johnson gave an example on the article. A progress of how an in-room-tweet-conversation turned to involve outsiders. As long as the content is posted up on Tweeter to the public, everything is visible to everyone.
Besides, I'm pretty sure because of this, more and more abbreviations are created. Identify if you know any of this!
LOL
ROFL
LMAO
IMO
MTE
IYF
FYI
WTH
FTW
IKR
TTYL
AFK
so how many you know out of so many abbreviation?
In addition, I agree very much with what Johnson said about Tweeter is like an added second layer of discussion and brought a wider audience into what would have been a private exchange. Because of all these social networking sites to update the status, nowadays, people won't know what is supposed to be private and what is not.
Like what I mentioned in the earlier post about a mother tweeting about the death of her kid just 30 minutes after he passed away. People don't know what is and not supposed to post it up. In addition to that, with the limited characters to insert, it might even distort the meaning of the real statement.
From what I see, if I were to compare if Twitter is changing our live to a better or worse life, I would say it turned worse. Lack of privacy, lack of face to face communication etc.
Johnson mentioned a few points that Twitter helps in this century as well.
News and Opinion : Indeed, now, Twitter can even be a platform to the hottest news in town. Whenever there are news, everyone will just post it up on Twitter. What's next? People will start to share and the message will go viral. Taking the speed of re-sharing into account, I guess even online news won't be able to catch up.
Searching : Just almost the same concept with weblog. Whenever you want to have some recommendation, you can look around from the friend's update or even to tweet a question and get feedback from friends. For example: What to eat tonight? Most probably you'll start getting all kinds of suggestions of food to eat.
Advertising : It serves just like the Facebook fan page. There more successful business it is, the more followers there will be. What they do with it then? An interaction platform! Whenever they launch a product, they tweet and the followers will get it from their tweet feeds. Besides, the consumers will not have to go through all the hassle to make a complain as well if they want to. Instead, they can tweet and tag the company so that they knows it straight away. I remember reading a blogger tagging a cinema's twitter complaining about the bad service she received from the ticket seller. After she tagged the company, the company got it straight away and waited for the blogger to finish her movie and compensate her with two free ticket to another movie. Don't you think with this way it is way faster compare to calling or emailing?
But there is also downsides to this hot + famous platform. People used to go to their e-mail, RSVP or letter constantly to see if there are any updates that are important for them to follow up. Yet for now, people constantly checking on people's update and people's life. They don't concern of their live as how they used to do anymore. The best example is people nowadays follow their idols. For example, the hardcore fans will constantly refresh their idol's page to see if they update. And apparently, the more famous a celebrity are, the more tweets they'll have. It is like constantly letting people know what are you doing so that they'll think that they're close to the celebrity. More to the point, the fans can reply to the said tweet which will make them feel even closer to the celebrity.
Today, Twitter is like one of the famous platforms for the netizen to interact with each other. However, Johnson stated that
The weather reports keep annoucning that the sky is falling, but here we are - millions of us - sitting around trying to invent new ways to talk to one another.
Do you think the people are all going to the wrong direction? What is the main thing that we should concern? How to communication with friends? or how to stop the Earth to turn worse?
Jia Xin, I agreed with what you had said about Twitter nowadays, lead to lack of communications with others, as everyone know what happened on you in Twitter and they won't ask you again. And yet it's hard to get a new topic to made a conversation. I'm not saying Twitter is not good, just that it had changed our life. Like you say lack of privacy, lack of face to face communication and others. Anyway, it is good post.
ReplyDeleteTwitter has changed they way we live such as we has used it to expand our networks instead of calling or sms each other. In other words, it is true that people recently have lack of the face-to-face communication within each other nowadays. Indeed,if you have any high gadget by your side, we will always able to check on it anytime, anywhere. It is efficient meanwhile it is bad for our health too!
ReplyDeleteJia Xin! I only don't know 3 abbreviations! MTE, IYF, AFK! What do they mean! Gotta Google that up or I shall ask my Twitter followers!
ReplyDeleteAm just kidding! I feel that if Twitter is used in a correct manner, it will be really rightly influential and beneficial if people really use Twitter in the right and accurate manner. I feel that whatever I see on Facebook pages linked to Twitter accounts are just a minute-to-minute updates of one's routine. And, I really don't find any of that useful except for the fact that it will only be beneficial to stalkers and admirers.
So maybe Twitter is a tool to get close to someone or to know about someone without asking but in fact, I find that oddly disclosing. I would feel exposed. After all some information should be really kept to themselves, because not everyone wants such updates to clog up their vision.
But if we're talking about reviews, updates on a breaking news or relevant issues, then Twitter would be a really good tool then. Everything will be known at the click of our fingers by finding out the # used. If only. If only Tweets were more beneficial. Maybe the trend of Twitter as news feed hasn't dawned on people yet, especially people around us. But I really do hope that maybe something will change that will put Twitter into a new light for me.
What say you? :) Thank you for your post!
I agree that people disclose too much things about themselves to the whole world. And yes, everyone is enjoying it, like what you've mentioned in this post. I think this situation is getting worst as people now update constantly. And the thing they are updating is just a small matter that will not cause any big issue.
ReplyDeleteFrom the example you gave about the movie ticket of cinema. I think it is quite a effective way to make complain or comments on something. In my opinion, some companies might be worry that the issue spread very fast as Twitter is a world-wide social sites and they have large audiences in it. To stop spreading the news and build up their brand, they free tickets for the blogger.
It is so true that more and more abbreviations will be created because of the words limit of Twitter. People wants to squeeze everythings in the 140 characters tweets and when there are too many characters to in a message, short form or abbreviations will be used.
ReplyDeleteTwitter help people to get closer because people disclose their personal life easily in Twitter like "I ate an apple in the morning". This can help your friend to know you better but in the other way, it is has less privacy because everyone know what are you doing and where you are. If you disclose your daily routine easily, it might be dangerous because some criminals may saw it and kidnaped you or your stalker may follow you everywhere. But then you can set your tweets as privacy which most of the people didn't do that.
People are addicted in Twitter it can be good or bad. In good ways, friends can know the latest status and know how you are going. However, some of the illegal people do badly in it too, if your whereabouts post in the Twitter, maybe the illegal can do some illegal things on you as you had told the whole world where you going to be. Twitter can make people life change in the way people will forget to do their work by addicted in following the celebrity but Twitter make life easier too. Twitter provided a space for sharing opinion and latest update from the global places.
ReplyDeleteIt is really a confusing decision to decide whether it turns out to become a good habit or vice versa. A good post, in my opinion,twitter is invading the user privacy but in a good manner. Eveythings have two side,you can think that this is a good way to let other people know and not to worry you.Another perspective would be,your are stalking me eventhough im just simply posting some emoticons.Sometimes words doesn't represent the feeling your'e now but it represent the feeling at that moment.
ReplyDelete