Twitter is for the birds

John Santos
News Editor

We are connected to the Internet all times of the day. Although the internet has helped us a great deal, being

John Santos is no longer a twitter user.

connected all the time can become unhealthy. Smartphones have allowed us to check social media anywhere and at any time. In a survey conducted by Boost Mobile among young people ages 16-25, 68% of those surveyed admitted to checking their social media profiles 10 times a day. When we begin to shape the way we think and act over something as useless as a Twitter profile, that’s when a problem arises.

I recently deleted my Twitter profile. I frequently used to spend any minute of downtime trying to think of some witty comment, anything to get precious retweets. The concept of receiving constant reinforcement for your most basal opinions in the form of virtual Twitter points known as “retweets” or “favorites” consumed much of my free time. I accumulated over 10,100 tweets in a period of about two years.

After deleting my profile, I filled the void of Twitter with a journal to write my ideas down. This way I could write down and remember my ideas without the seeking attention aspect.

 

Creating distance between yourself and social media can be a very positive experience. Social media websites like Twitter and Facebook only encourage you to spend time creating an online version of yourself, when you should be focusing on bettering your real-life self.

In the end, virtual social points such as “likes” and “favorites” mean nothing. It’s more important to focus on real relationships and social interactions. Instead of chatting someone on Facebook, call them to hang out or have lunch. Digital interaction cannot compete with the sincerity of talking face-to-face.