One of the biggest sensations in the internet world today is Twitter. What is Twitter? Twitter is “Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about what you find interesting.” (Twitter.com) The information we share to the world are called Tweets, which only allows us to have 140 characters per “Tweet”.
What is so appealing about Twitter? One is capable of giving any kind of information, be it in text, image or even video. One can share to the whole world with just a tweet. It is extremely popular because it is very convenient to use, and also very easy to learn. Even for “non-tech. saavy” people, Twitter is actually quite straightforward. Whatever you want to say, just type it in the box located at the top of your page, and voila! You have tweeted!
Yes, it is definitely a good way to spread news to friends and family, however they are not the only ones that can access this information. Privacy is an issue that can be questioned. When a tweet, video or picture gets sent out into the internet world, it will automatically leave an “electronic trace.” (Sherry Turkle) Even if this information is deleted off the twitter page, it does not fully disappear off the face of the earth. People are still capable of retrieving said information.
I think it is pretty scary to know that whatever I write, and delete, people are still able to dig it back up. Who knows what can be used against me? Sadly many of the younger generations do not really care much about giving out personal information. Some others, such as college students, ignore the fact that they might be violating the privacy which in turn, increased surveillance from the government.
When people are “tweeting”, they usually tweet about what they are doing; what is happening in their lives. When we tweet, we do not think it is such a big deal. And because we can now literally tweet from anywhere, because there is now a function called “Twitter on the go” where we can tweet straight from our mobile phones, or smartphones, it is now easier for people to track down our location. And we do not really think about who is reading our tweets, but anyone around the WORLD can read our tweets. The web has connected people from all over the world at all times. The web is now part of our everyday social lives.
Although personal information can be leaked out, sometimes it might not be real information. When people think of role-playing, people usually associate chat rooms, or role-playing games such as the avatar game, “Second life”. However, some of the people role-play through Twitter as well.
People can pretend to be another character from a movie, show, or animation that they saw, or they can create a character entirely on their own. They can pretend to be everything they wanted to be but cannot. Through the web, because it is not face-to-face with someone; no one knows who you really are or what you really look like. Therefore, people can express themselves more easily, without feeling embarrassed or feel like they’re getting judged all the time.
Because of this privacy issue, we are more conscious about what we post online, and more aware about who will read such information; especially since there is also a function called Tweet Location, where it shares the location where you tweeted from to the others. Other people can now know where you currently are without even having to ask you. We can also “privatize” our tweets where it only allows the followers whom you have accepted to read. But is it really private? People, such as the government or even hackers, can still get these information. It’s amazing how nothing can truly be private in the cyber world.
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