The Twitter Phenomenon
No matter what I read or where I go, the subject of Twitter keeps popping up. Twitter is a social networking website. It has been defined as “a social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time.”
For those who never heard of Twitter, here is a very basic explanation provided by Twitter: “a service that lets you keep in touch with people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to the simple question, What are you doing?.”
Thus Twitter allows people to continually update their friends on what they are doing at any moment of the day. For example, you can tell everyone in your network such things as:
“I am going to the bathroom now”
“I am eating eggs for breakfast”
“I am wondering what to watch on TV tonight”
As a result, your friends or colleagues know what you are doing throughout the day – and you also know what they are doing. How incredibly valuable to have such a wonderful service available to us!
Yes, I’m being sarcastic, but this Twitter stuff simply makes no sense to me. We haven’t developed enough of a “ME” culture, so we have to announce to the world every step we take all day and every thought we think.
Personally, I don’t want to know every item on a person’s schedule for the day. I don’t care what my friends or colleagues are having for breakfast. And I certainly don’t want to read every thought that runs through their minds. I have enough wild thoughts in my own mind.
I admit that I never joined Twitter and have no first-hand knowledge of this “service.” I do know that any human being, myself included, is very likely to become obsessively addicted to something like this in very short order. The mind loves continuous, frenzied activity.
Of course, once we hear that our friends are using Twitter, we may feel the pressure to join in on this lunacy. This is an easy one for me to resist.
It’s not surprising that young people are in love with Twitter. They also love to send text messages via the cell phone all day, every day. Many adults do the same thing.
All of this repetitive mind activity comes at the cost of our spiritual growth. Twitter says it is all about “connecting” with people. How ridiculous. By learning that you are going to the bathroom or putting on your shoes, am I connecting with you? Even if I learn that you like a particular kind of music, does this constitute some special connection between us?
We live in a world that likes to define us by what we do, what we prefer or who we know. These kinds of details DO have their place in our lives. Sharing our experiences and preferences is an essential part of being human. However, when we turn this into a minute-by-minute or hour-by- hour commentary on everything happening to us – and we become overly interested in everything happening to our friends – I just don’t see the benefit to be gained from this game.
I’m not saying that Twitter will destroy the world. Not at all. Feel free to use it if it excites you, or if you feel it keeps you connected.
Twitter is a game that feeds the active mind. And if you feed the active mind, you will be taken further and further away from your true nature or spiritual essence.
True connection is found through a quiet mind, not a mind caught up in trivial facts.
– Jeff Keller
© 2009