can’t or don’t want to keep up with the joneses or anyone else for that matter
Get a life, Twitter. Screw you, Facebook.
What is my problem? I would like to appreciate Twitter as it seems to be an amazing communication tool for reporting things that are happening in the farthest reaches of the world where technology and/or political or religious restrictions have made it hard to know what’s really happening. I see the same 4 or 5 people updating and twittering over twenty times in a day. Granted I don’t “follow” that many people on Twitter, but seriously, who needs to communicate that much? It reads as egotistical to me, posting every hour. Does anyone want to read every thought that enters your mind? Who has the time? How do you have the time to make this many observations and still get anything done?
I like Facebook, and I love getting a glimpse into my friends’ day-to-day lives with their interesting and relevant status updates. But there are some who update constantly. All day. I don’t understand it. And what’s with all the complaining and woe-is-me? Or the obvious statements that amount to polite conversations between strangers waiting for an elevator? Yes, I live in the world and it’s hot where I am in the summer, too. I’m annoyed about the rain as well. Deep thoughts.
If you’re going to update, have something to say or at least be silly and/or entertain me. Do I need to know you had four cups of coffee today or that you slept till 11am? Should I send you some aspirin because your status reads you have a toothache? In describing and photographing what you’re having for dinner are you inviting me for a meal or just taunting me? I enjoy the glimpse, but if I wanted a full picture, I’d call you or email you or see you. In person. Yeah, weird.
Gee-zus, am I turning into an old lady? “Am I so out of touch? No. It is the children who are wrong.” - Principal Skinner, The Simpsons.
I started a blog not just to have a soapbox to climb atop and bitch, but to tell my friends what was going on with me and my cancer and my chemo in detail. Yes, I’m a Leo, so me likey lots of attention, sure! But I’ve no doubt that if I had been on Facebook when I was first diagnosed I wouldn’t have mentioned it much there. It’s not my style. Just as it’s not my style to feel sorry for myself. Don’t get me wrong, I have plenty of poor me, poor me, pour me another moments, but I try to force perspective. I make myself see how good I have it in the grand scheme of things. And when I complain, I try to make it fun, funny, or constructive.
That’s all.
September 21st, 2009 at 11:12 am
Fark yeah.
An old-fashioned blogger whose writing blows me away did a coupla posts on this:
http://www.breedemandweep.com/im-a-twitter-quitter
http://www.breedemandweep.com/shiver-me-twitters
The irony of me replying: very few people read blogs anymore. It’s like clapping with one hand in an empty forest where no trees are falling.
September 26th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
You go girl!!!! A lovely, succinct account of the negatives of constant updates. The problem is that there is no context. The other problem is that Twitter and Facebook play to our deepest narcissistic tendencies. Thanks for recognizing it and expressing it in such a well-thought-out way. It’s one of the many reasons I love you.