Twits - Upperclass and Otherwise

Twits

We are a sad, sad, sad society. Apparently we are completely convinced that the greater world is frothing to discover our every move, each thought, all tiny details of our daily and largely dull lives.

Everybody wants to be a celebrity.

There doesn't seem to be any privacy at all on the network. Twitter people talk about anything and everything, from the most mundane to the most embarrassing. Anthony Weiner could tell you something about this. From what I can gather, many tweets are potentially humiliating, yet the twits keep on tweeting.

The blog http://inklingmedia.net did a post last March about this. Called, “Twit Happens”, it explores the goof-ups that happen all the time with this forum of social interaction. People constantly either post embarrassing things or they mistakenly send to all the wrong recipients. The writer goes on to give some pointers on how to avoid this, to whit:

• Don’t be stupid
• Use common sense
• Slow down
• Think before you post
• Think again
• If you have doubts, don’t pull the trigger
• Keep thinking

Please! If one was thinking and using common sense, they wouldn't be spending so much time in electronic self-advertising!

The article even used a picture of one of my favourite funny characters, an upperclass Twit from Monty Python. Those guys were way ahead of their time!

Upperclass Twit Graham Chapman

 I am serious here. Why are we as a society so enthralled with the minutae of others' lives? Why do we believe our own lives are worthy of widespread announcements? I cannot imagine that anyone I know would care about what store I just patronized or whether or not I purchased shoes. Does anybody really care what I had for lunch?

There was a brief moment when I considered signing up just to poke fun by tweeting that “ OMG I just fed the rats! “, or “ My sink clogged and here is the slimy festering mass”. Then I realized that it has been done already and not in fun, but in the amazingly narcissistic sense that others should give a rat's butt! People who use these things actually brag about how many 'friends' or 'followers' they have! Really! There is something off about all this, something shallow and disturbing. I believe mass attention is so focused on the inconsequential that they will be extremely easy to control by whoever has the most muscle to do so.

I think I'll stick with my blog. This is plenty techno enough for me and I write offline first before I post. Much safer.

Oh, and because I know it is of paramount interest to you all, I don't have Messenger, Facebook, a cellphone, blackberry, GPD, Ipod, Tablet, or Bluetooth, so I am afraid I can't interrupt you umpteen times a day to keep you from your own life!