You heard right. I definitely tweeted when I made it to the Bay Area from Central California before I informed my own mother. It happens. Although recently I have really started to wonder… what does that say about me? Do I not love my mother? Am I antisocial? Am I addicted to Twitter? Some of you may sigh as you answer “yes” to all of those questions. Some of you may further speculate that I have some kind of a problem. I however would like to give myself the benefit of the doubt, and dig deeper into why I do this. In my defense I am not the only person who prefers online communication blasts above anything else. So, what is going on here?
I think what it comes down to is that there is a certain luxury about posting your status on some sort of an online portal. Whether you are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any site that allows you to update it with what you are doing, what you are thinking etc. etc… There is something satisfying about just shooting information out into the ether without any expected response. You are not demanding that anyone read it, and are further not requesting that anyone respond (in most cases). I mean many times what you want to share with someone does not require their response. Unfortunately social norms, in the sense of texts, phone calls and emails, require the reader/answerer to comment back.
In some cases I also think that Facebook/Twitter status’ have become certain people’s inner monologue, or at least a part of it. Of course we don’t share everything we are thinking, that would just be offensive, but I have found that a lot of what I am thinking now goes straight online. I censor myself to an extent, but it is a fast an easy way to record my thought at that very moment without the insecurities of awaiting an answer.
So Mom, if you are reading this, I am sorry I feel more comfortable posting something online than calling you. Maybe someday you will come online and read what I write. Maybe not. If you do I promise you will learn more about me… even learn as much as my tweeps already know… maybe you will even become one of my tweeps? Email me. Xoxo.
#Ifmymomhadtwitter she would probably follow me and respond to my every tweet, but she doesn’t.
November 24, 2010 at 8:42 am
I think the key take-away here is that your mom needs a Twitter account so you only have to update 1 mode of communication.