After copious amounts of peer pressure I finally succumbed to getting a Twitter account, one of the most popular trends in social networking. I was surprised and delighted to discover I enjoy that I can pick and choose whose thoughts I read, and they are limited to only 140 characters, sparing me a paragraph-length thought that ended up only being a “repost” like on Facebook.
My relationship with Twitter seemed perfect! I could say witty thoughts, read silly comments and stay connected with my friends. Everything seemed perfect until now. Campaign season is going to cause me to break up with Twitter.
Gone are the inspirational Bible verses and ironic song lyrics. Gone are the “total frat moves” and Instagrams. Now my feed is all about who should or should not win the upcoming election. I am fine with reading about a sweet thing your boyfriend did. I enjoy seeing a picture of a cute kitten! But please spare me your thoughts on politics, whether I agree with them or not!
I understand that the Internet seems like a great place to express your thoughts, but why turn something fun and casual into something so serious? Why Twitter? Letting out your political thoughts on Twitter is not going to change people’s vote. You do not have enough room to persuade anyone! All that is changing is my decision to follow you! And deep, intellectual thought is not going to spring forth from a 140-character tweet!
I just wish people could turn back to the old Twitter, where they just talked about their lives and put up pictures. I enjoy knowing about your life; I hate knowing about your political views. Go join a debate team if those kind of thoughts need to be expressed. Or go join a campaign and put posters in someone’s yard! Or just go vote and support your candidate, and leave me out of it! In the meantime, I’ll be looking at cute pet Instagram pictures and tweeting “Pretty Little Liars” quotes.
Photo credit: thepolitic.org