There is a war raging in paradise--Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are supposedly an item. I like to put things in terms I can identify with so if you travel way back to 1997...Two young pop artists rekindle a romance and break my little 13 year old heart...yes...I’m talking about Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. Perhaps now the over 16 set can understand the seriousness of the situation. The Twitter-verse (Twitter + Universe) has been a flutter with some pretty horrifying sentiments. Just a few days ago Taylor, showed me some of the Tweets her followers posted about the situation, she herself posted, “@SelenaGomez you better be careful with him we’re going to get you.”
Maybe I’m a little old-school but threats over the internet about a boy? Really?
In many social groups, mine not included, online personas stay online. (I know it is much different for people over thirty--and people not in school for that matter...) Though Taylor’s ‘real’ friends may follow her on Twitter they generally do not talk about ‘real life’ on Twitter. Taylor is a 16-year-old girl, standing about 5 foot 2 weighing 100 pounds dripping wet. She is tiny and sweet; in the...10 years I’ve known her I have never once heard her say a single negative thing about anyone. Not even when her parents we going through a rough divorce; why is she so intense on the internet? It is all a matter of how her online followers see her: Online, Taylor has a boyfriend and an identical twin. She does not have these things in real life. She is creating an online personality to fit the content of her tweet--in essence she is living two lives, one in reality and one online.
I have a theory that children use the internet for a variety of thing but children like Taylor may use the internet to escape social perimeters laid in place by their surroundings and social circumstances. In real life Taylor is a darling, sweet, smart young lady but online she can shed that porcelain exterior and become someone she cannot in her daily life. It is with a hint of anonymity that online personalities survive.
I cannot say how many times I have read an offensive status, or ranting post on someone’s Twitter, LiveJournal, or...and this is pretty old school...Myspace. It seems that this generation feels the right to post their inner-most thoughts but, and this is key, they need to be indirect. Example:
We cannot post: “@FriendJonDoe, you were a real ass for staying home last night.”
We can post: “I hate when people are lame.”
Now, there are some social rules and exceptions about this that I have noticed:
I. If the person you are “tagging” or directing the post to is famous all bets are off. Just Google Kanye West if you think I’m kidding.
II. The post must be as indirect as possible, this will ensure that IF ‘drama’ were to arise you can quickly make up an excuse and get out of it.
III. If the post is funny you are automatically off the hook. People will think you’re hilarious and witty, when really you’re just mad.
Anonymity is key here because when addressing real life situation, like the example above, it is very important to avoid confrontation (which is why the post is on Facebook or Twitter rather than said in a private conversation).
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