No one seems to know exactly why Twitter is so popular these days. Apparently though, the Times of London found some scholars that have taken notice of it, done a little research, and formed some not too positive opinions on everyone’s favorite micro-blogging service.
In a recap and analysis of these Twitter-focused studies, the gang at Valleywag points out that one prevailing theory is that the reason people use Twitter is because their sense of “the self” is not only woefully misguided, but also sadly underdeveloped.
The general breakdown of the studies mentioned is this: “You are not truly important. You think you are, and so you use Twitter to shoot off mundane messages about your daily life that reinforce your own inflated sense of self-worth. According to these folks, staying permanently connected with others reminds you are alive, providing you with a sort of “baby monitor” for your own existence. They don’t think this is a good thing.
So is using Twitter just a way for users to placate their egos? Or a way for us to commiserate with Ashton Kutcher about noisy neighbors? Or is the interaction provided by Twitter similar to most other interactions that people already have on a daily basis?
We can now instantly connect and share thoughts and ideas with other people, and regardless of whether or not those connections revolve around an exciting new economic theory or what kind of fish you had for dinner, the importance and value of the connection itself shouldn’t be diminished.
If people want to take Twitter’s ability to disperse and share these seemingly mundane micro-conversations as proof that its users are the sole members of society that seek self-validation and vindication through communication, we invite you to take a good long look at anyone who has ever sent out family-themed holiday cards. Or written a book. Transcribe a conversation you’ve had with a cab driver, compare that to a Twitter feed, and then we’ll talk about how tweeting is entirely responsible for the downfall of society’s fully-developed sense of self.
Here’s what we’re getting at: while Twitter may feel unnecessary, irrational, and counter-productive to some, this doesn’t mean we should simply write off its importance as an instantaneous tool of communication, connection, and sometimes, yes, even self-discovery.
Regardless, though: free cup of coffee, on us, to the first person who begins tweeting as THE_REAL_ KIERKEGAARD.