The theories that best represents my topic, The Twitter Obsession, are the cult of celebrity and the theory of rituals. The current obsession with Twitter in our society both creates celebrities of a sort, as well as allowing fans a connection with their favorite celebrities. Twitter could be considered a ritual because of the regularity with which people tweet and also check other people’s tweets. Additionally tweeting would be considered a public ritual performed by an individual for the purpose of social bonding.
In looking at Twitter in relation to the cult of celebrity, people can become a Twitter celebrity by tweeting their every thought, idea, or every move which other people then become obsessed with following, so they follow that person’s account. Twitter is almost like a popularity contest in which people vey for the coveted position of having the most followers. By gaining such a high number of followers, those people become celebrities in the world of Twitter. However, there are also other celebrities who use Twitter, such as Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, and Ashton Kutcher; to give their fans what seems to be an intimate connection and look inside their person lives. This false sense of intimacy only bolsters the obsession of the fans and elevates the celebrity’s status. Twitter also allows celebrities to extend their fame beyond their regional geography to reach a global audience, which in turn creates a larger fan base for that celebrity. This could mean more contracts, bigger movies, and more money – all for the benefit of the celebrity.
The theory of rituals would also apply to our fascination with Twitter. As stated earlier, Twitter would be an individual public ritual performed for the purpose of social bonding. The rituals are individual because it is an individual action – you tweet on your own account what your own thoughts are. The rituals are public though because the tweets are read by hundreds or millions of other Twitter followers. The ritual is for the purpose of social bonding because it’s creating a shared experience between the person posting the tweets and the “fans” who follow the people tweeting. The sharing of our everyday lives and thoughts creates a sense of connection to the other people in the Twitter community, however real or false that connection might be. Twitter could also be considered a ritual because it has become so ingrained in many people’s lives. There are people who cannot start their day without the ritual of saying good morning to all of their Twitter followers, or someone who have to tweet obsessively at certain points throughout the day.
The most interesting things that I have learned about my topic of The Twitter Obsession is how crazy our culture is for social bonding experiences such as Twitter or Facebook. Even the word Tweet has made its way into online dictionaries. I think it has been interesting learning how our culture has turned away from a face-to-face communication culture to an online, texting, tweeting culture. Sadly, it is more common to receive a text than a phone call these days. It seems as if our society uses Twitter and other social media as a way to connect with others, without ever really having to connect.
I really do not think of Twitter differently after my analysis. I do not tweet, but have many friends who are faithful Twitter followers. To me, I just don’t see the sense in using Twitter to tell people things about myself or my thoughts. I already use Facebook, which is enough social media for me. I know Twitter can be a useful media outlet, such as stores tweeting about special sales, or companies tweeting about needing to hire for a specific position. Personally, I do not need another reason to disconnect further from the intimate, personal connections that are made during face-to-face interactions.
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