I was a late adopter to Twitter. I just didn’t understand the purpose behind the seemingly random statements made throughout the day. It seemed to be nothing more than an opportunity for folks to drop names and brag on themselves. And, for some, that is exactly how it works.
Yet, I have discovered that it is much more.
I am a trucker’s daughter – you will just have to go with me here for a moment.
I passed a semi-truck and he was talking on his CB radio. I’m sure everyone knows how it works, but every trucker has a handle and that is how they are known across the radio waves. (Random info: My dad’s handle was Mr. Clean, my brother was Southpaw and I was Little Bit.) I always thought of the CB as just great fun. Now, I realize that it was a way for one trucker to say to another, I hear you out there. You’re not alone.
They would warn each other about road conditions, weather issues or speed traps. They kept each other awake on those long overnight trips. There is a bonding that takes place between folks who are traveling the same road.
Twitter is just a modern version of the CB radio. Whether I’m up all night weathering a storm with @KateCarlson, oooing and ahhing over @GypsyMama‘s new baby or just interacting with a new friend (Hey, @LindseyHartz!), it’s a way for folks walking the same sod to interact and encourage each other. It’s one mama saying to another, I hear you up in the middle of the night with that sick baby and you’re not alone. It’s one person saying to another, I know that thing you’re going through is hard. I’ve been there and I’m going to pray you through.
It is one woman caring enough about another to say, Oh my word. Have you seen these Nutella cupcakes?
No, seriously. Have you seen them? You need to do so now. I will wait…
Twitter is new, but the idea behind it is not. It is people craving community. It is the way we were created. God did not make us to live in isolation.
I’ll be honest, for an introvert like myself, the idea of community is difficult. But God is stretching me. He is reminding me that we are all members of a larger body and everyone must interact and do their part.
In the same way we who are many are one body in Christ… – Romans 12:5
So, let’s talk. Let’s pray. Let’s tweet. Let’s lift each other up.
…Pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. – Ecclesiastes 4:10
I’m a mostly agreeable girl, but mmm, I just can’t get with ya on the Twitter thing. I wholeheartedly agree about community and reaching out, I guess I’ve just become a jaded product of the 20th century. What with email, Facebook, texting…personal connections are nary to be found anymore. I use all 3, and frequently I might add, but I have serious moments of doubt about why and how often more than you might think. It’s harder to pick up the phone and call than it is to send a text. It’s faster to type out an email rather than pick up a pen and write a letter, not to mention saving the $.44 in postage to mail it. Facebook makes it easy to have “friends” but not FRIENDS. That’s not to say that Twitter can’t be a great platform for any number of reasons, but for me, I just see it as one more way to remove the personal aspect of connecting with people and developing relationships, when that’s precisely what I should focus on improving.
With all of these technological advances, I think a strong argument could be made for both, which I think you’ve done well here. 🙂
I will say that social media should not replace personal contact with friends and family. I guess, what I am thinking of, is the folks I would have never met outside of Twitter. People in the same stage of life or going through the same trials. People, like you, who I would have never “met” outside of the internet.
So, I totally agree with you that we have lost a lot of the personal interactions that come with a written letter or a phone call. But, I sure do enjoy meeting new folks.
🙂 Have a great Monday, girl!
I totally agree…and especially with Twitter it’s mainly people I would never have met offline. With Facebook, it’s almost all IRL friends/family and I think it’s easy to lose connection. Sometimes my mom is yeah, didn’t you see that on Facebook? I miss huge things happening because she assumes I see every single update.
I have a few truck-driving extended family members so I definitely see the connection!
First things first – that is an awesome profile pic and I am coveting your shoe collection. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. Hope you have a wonderful Monday!
I totally agree. The friends I have, I still connect with. In fact I don’t connect on twitter with my closest friends. However, twitter has given me a chance to connect with a person in Canada, Missouri, Pakistan, among others. Its been an opportunity for me to live out my faith with a person 2.5 km from bin laden’s compound. How does one in TN do that without spending a few grand in airfare? So I’m all for any way we have availed to us to live the Gospel.
Twitter is my CB!!!
(My handle was baby bear and we used to sit in the driveway and beg my Uncle to talk on the CB)