This past week I’ve realized some things. They are as follows:
1) Twitter is not essential to life.
2) As in real life, a lot of people on Twitter are jerks.
3) You should never, ever give a crap about who’s following you and, save for maybe a few people (#REDEYE WHATTUP WHATTUP), never be affected by people who ‘unfollow’.
At the end of the day, Twitter is a form of social media. The ‘media’ part is important because it separates Twitter from your normal face-to-face social interaction. People are more hesitant about being rude when they’re two inches from somebody’s face. People are more hesitant about being stupid jerks when they’re separated by 10 states.
I have proof of this because *I* am regularly rude on Twitter. You know why? Because nobody knows where I live, and I get to exercise the bitchiness I often want to exhibit in my real life. Also, where else am I going to get to call Dane Cook an unfunny hack or Keith Olbermann a…well is there even a word descriptive enough for what he is?
Getting down to my main point: in real life, if someone you associated with distanced themselves from you based solely on which Republican candidate you support, they would be a terrible human being. So many of my friends are Obama supporters—and you know why I tolerate this? Because there’s more to life than politics. Because people are individuals who are comprised of much more than who they plan to vote for (or even just talk about) in November.
But Twitter’s different. On Twitter, unlike the real world, you have the opportunity to live in a bubble. You can cut yourself off from all language you disagree with. You can, virtually, live in a place where the only opinions espoused are the ones 100% in agreement with your own. Is this the best way to use Twitter? Absolutely not. It’s nice to know the thought processes of people who differ from you. Keep in mind, I’m just talking about people who fall under the blanket of CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN. I’m not saying you should follow Obama drones just so your timeline is ‘diverse’. I’m saying you should be able to follow a Rick Perry fan while supporting Romney without blowing a gasket.
On Twitter, at the end of the day, you can create an environment that’s comfortable for you. For most of us, we’re comfortable having our opinions challenged or even mocked by other users. If you have a strong belief in your own views, you can handle criticism because you can DEFEND your views. Some people on the other hand never want to see their opinion challenged, either because they can’t defend their views or because they’d like to live the virtually fantasy of existing in a place where everyone thinks they’re, like, super smart and right.
Yes, I am referring to an event that occurred earlier this week, but I’m not going to specify for fear of being called an OBSESSIVE STALKER who can’t MOVE ON (yes people, when you react to name-calling, if you don’t just STFU you’re unfortunately a stalker. I know, it’s sad).
For clarity, NO ONE is obligated to follow anyone. The whole ‘follow back’ expectation is stupid, and if somebody says something that offends you, by all means, unfollow. You can even do one of those obnoxious RT’s with ‘UNFOLLOW’ in the front. But for people you’ve built up some sort of communication with—people you regularly RT or tweet with—unfollowing based on nothing but candidate support is sad and shows an insecurity in your own beliefs.
And that’s all I’ve gotta say about that.
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sagacitythatisshannon reblogged this from leahblair and added:
routinely document evidence...one under: Why I...America...
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