I despise Twitter. There is no section of that website that does not fill me with an immense loathing of all humanity. And I like humanity! I really do! I think we’re a fantastic species, having accomplished a great deal in our short time on this planet and capable of so much more. We went from from discovering fire to sending men to the moon in less than 100,000 years, which is brilliant for a species that spends most of its time trying to destroy itself. But Twitter represents the absolute nadir of technology, and, by association, human development. I now spend days dreaming that any number of post-apocalyptic scenarios will occur in my lifetime in the hope that Twitter will finally be destroyed. In other words, I am actively hoping for the destruction of civilization as we know it just to stop another “Tweet” from ever going out.
Why the hatred? Why the vitriol? Two reasons, the first being that I love language. But what’s that you say? Twitter is language? It is communication? My only response to that, alien voice in my head, is that you should keep quiet lest I beat you down with the unabridged OED. Every “Tweet” - and I continue to use the quotation marks because I refuse to adopt such an idiotic term as part of my own vocabulary, apart from answering the question, “What sound does a bird make?” - is nothing more than a viral sound byte. It is a random thought, restricted to 140 characters. Yes, it is communication, but it is communication devoid of any real meaning. What thought can possibly be encapsulated in such a limited amount of space? I’ve tried reading some Twitter profiles, and I cannot make any sense of it. There is no context for about seventy-five percent of what is on there. There is only one sort of communication that makes a shred of sense on the page, and it is the only form of communication that benefits from short, snappy messages lacking context or complex thought - advertising. It is nothing but a marketing tool, an attempt by individual humans to sell the world on their own value.
That brings me to my second reason: I love humanity. I said it before, but I need to reinforce that message. I truly care about all humans, even the ones I don’t particularly like. And it pains me to see individuals use such a service to transform their lives into some sort of commodity that must be advertised in order for it to have any worth. Every life already has worth. Every one of us is a vast array of thoughts and emotions, constantly shifting as time moves on. Twitter debases the human experience. Maybe I’m reading too much into the topic, and perhaps the site is only a bit of harmless fun. Or maybe I’m just another cynic, and my own voice doesn’t even deserve to be heard on the topic.
Why the hatred? Why the vitriol? Two reasons, the first being that I love language. But what’s that you say? Twitter is language? It is communication? My only response to that, alien voice in my head, is that you should keep quiet lest I beat you down with the unabridged OED. Every “Tweet” - and I continue to use the quotation marks because I refuse to adopt such an idiotic term as part of my own vocabulary, apart from answering the question, “What sound does a bird make?” - is nothing more than a viral sound byte. It is a random thought, restricted to 140 characters. Yes, it is communication, but it is communication devoid of any real meaning. What thought can possibly be encapsulated in such a limited amount of space? I’ve tried reading some Twitter profiles, and I cannot make any sense of it. There is no context for about seventy-five percent of what is on there. There is only one sort of communication that makes a shred of sense on the page, and it is the only form of communication that benefits from short, snappy messages lacking context or complex thought - advertising. It is nothing but a marketing tool, an attempt by individual humans to sell the world on their own value.
That brings me to my second reason: I love humanity. I said it before, but I need to reinforce that message. I truly care about all humans, even the ones I don’t particularly like. And it pains me to see individuals use such a service to transform their lives into some sort of commodity that must be advertised in order for it to have any worth. Every life already has worth. Every one of us is a vast array of thoughts and emotions, constantly shifting as time moves on. Twitter debases the human experience. Maybe I’m reading too much into the topic, and perhaps the site is only a bit of harmless fun. Or maybe I’m just another cynic, and my own voice doesn’t even deserve to be heard on the topic.
you are right MR.Bloedorn!
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