I have never understood Twitter. I have an account, but in the same capacity that everyone has a Facebook.
The hardest thing for me to grasp is how a social media platform that is primarily text based is so popular. Maybe it’s because I don’t know how to traverse the platform.
To answer this question, I went to the best Twitter expert I know, sophomore public relations major Sophie Vojta, who is an avid user of the app. I first asked her why she enjoys the Twitter overall.
“The platform is a lot more tailored to the content that I like. Also, I really enjoy how quickly the content moves through the platform,” Vojta said. “Unlike Facebook, memes and other content moves extremely quickly on Twitter. What might be in one day will be replaced by another the next.”
Within my short time on the app, I noticed that what Vojta said is true. Due to this rapid movement, I saw Twitter more like a job than an entertainment platform.
It was quite exhausting to keep up with all the latest tweets and to make sure that I was “in the know” so I didn’t feel left out. For a person who is still new to the slow but steady posting of Instagram, Twitter was quite a change.
My biggest concern with the platform is that I often view it as a hotbed for “fake news.”
“If you believe anything on Twitter without fact checking it, you shouldn’t have a phone,” Vojta said.
After hearing this, I was a little taken aback, but agreed nonetheless. It is not up to the platform to make sure that its users are investigating posts when necessary.
Once I got over a main reason I didn’t use the platform, I asked why she preferred Twitter over other social media.
“I like that Twitter isn’t as appealing to the older generation because it prevents your long lost Aunt Tayan from posting a weird, ‘Love what you are up to’ post from occurring. I believe that Twitter is more tailored to what someone of our generation, whether that be Millenials or Gen-I, want,” Vojta said.
After coming to the realization that Twitter may not be so bad, I asked Vojta if she had any recommendations for new users. She gave me three rules.
Rule number one: turn Twitter on night mode to prevent your eyes from exploding.
Rule number two: be selective when choosing people to follow so that you can better tailor your feed to what you are interested in. I would avoid following anyone that you are not connected with when you start out to prevent yourself from going into sensory overload.
Rule number three: DO NOT start Twitter beef. The subtweets and subthread will make it extreamly hard to follow and will make the situation ten times worse. If you truly want to start beef with someone, slide into their DMs.
Dawson’s rule number three A: if you slide into the DMs, at least you have receipts to expose them later if you have to.
With this guideline, I dove back into Twitter. Though I may not end up liking the app in the end, at least I have gained a better understanding of the overall appeal.
