Follow Miley Cyrus' lead: delete your Twitter account
Beth Clothier
Issue date: 10/12/09 Section: Opinion
Miley Cyrus has canceled her Twitter account and launched a YouTube video to explain her motives, and I for one have to ask who cares? Other than her father that is, who seems to think that daily tweets from his baby girl are the only thing that will keep his family in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed, revealed in his own tweet reading "We R Countin on U."
Apparently this tragedy is also front-page news, at least across the Internet, with several "news" sites and pages listing it as a top story next to details about the recession and the search for missing and dead citizens in the Philippines following massive landslides. Granted, I don't always like to read a constant flux of disappointment and disaster, or hear newscasters detail a laundry list of horrific crimes on a daily basis, but the fact that this story is considered news is ridiculous at best. So the world has one less celebrity detailing their every moment, vomiting out their thoughts in encapsulated form and offering insincere apologies and sympathy through the medium of text-speak. We should be glad, not heralding the occurrence as a day of mourning.
Personally, I am not a fan of Twitter. I can see where it has its uses in the areas of information and assistance, but it is yet another tool created to enhance our Internet experience that has grown out of control and passed beyond its original intention. It has gone from a quick way to publish news to a forum for stupidity and, as evidenced by samples from several celeb accounts, the latest place to offer condolences upon death, as if someone's life is only worth 140 characters at best.
Also, in what might almost be seen as sacrilege, people have started blogging their tweets. It's not enough that the information is out there in one form, but now they have to offer a collective list of their brief nuggets of wisdom, thus completely negating the original intention.
If you ask me, I'm happy Miley deleted her account, no matter the reason. It would be great if thousands more followed her example and stopped broadcasting useless thoughts, ideas and schedules to a world that should place its concerns elsewhere. If used at all, Twitter should be for good, not for evil, and the deletion of a 16-year-old girl's account should not be a top news headline.
Apparently this tragedy is also front-page news, at least across the Internet, with several "news" sites and pages listing it as a top story next to details about the recession and the search for missing and dead citizens in the Philippines following massive landslides. Granted, I don't always like to read a constant flux of disappointment and disaster, or hear newscasters detail a laundry list of horrific crimes on a daily basis, but the fact that this story is considered news is ridiculous at best. So the world has one less celebrity detailing their every moment, vomiting out their thoughts in encapsulated form and offering insincere apologies and sympathy through the medium of text-speak. We should be glad, not heralding the occurrence as a day of mourning.
Personally, I am not a fan of Twitter. I can see where it has its uses in the areas of information and assistance, but it is yet another tool created to enhance our Internet experience that has grown out of control and passed beyond its original intention. It has gone from a quick way to publish news to a forum for stupidity and, as evidenced by samples from several celeb accounts, the latest place to offer condolences upon death, as if someone's life is only worth 140 characters at best.
Also, in what might almost be seen as sacrilege, people have started blogging their tweets. It's not enough that the information is out there in one form, but now they have to offer a collective list of their brief nuggets of wisdom, thus completely negating the original intention.
If you ask me, I'm happy Miley deleted her account, no matter the reason. It would be great if thousands more followed her example and stopped broadcasting useless thoughts, ideas and schedules to a world that should place its concerns elsewhere. If used at all, Twitter should be for good, not for evil, and the deletion of a 16-year-old girl's account should not be a top news headline.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
skiyle
posted 10/12/09 @ 1:11 PM CST
Very nicely said. When I found out Miley deleted her account I went ahead and did it to. I had planned on doing it weeks earlier for the basic reasons she outlined. (Continued…)
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