In the past year or so, I’ve given in and am finally on Twitter because I’m currently working as a psychotech journalist and it’s proven itself to be a great way to find stories, monitor chatter between sources, and network with fellow reporters. But for professionals like us, and especially clinicians, it’s much more complicated than it seems, and blurring the lines can happen in a single tweet.
But the deeper you get into the “Twitterverse”, you’ll find that not only does it come with its own language, but also its own set of norms. It always amazes me; despite the massive volume of civilized people dwelling within its pages, things are drastically different from the real world.
So here is a quick guide to the rules I’ve discovered:
On Twitter, when someone “follows” you, it’s good. It means they want to read what you write. In real life, it’s creepy. It means they might plan to kill you.
On Twitter, when you “follow” someone else, they’ll often thank you for the compliment. In real life, when you follow someone else, they’ll probably call the police.
… read the complete story ~ http://issuu.com/onlinetherapyinstitute/docs/titliss10/62
This article first appeared in the Spring 2012 issue of TILT Magazine ~ Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology.
Click here to read the entire PDF version of the Considering the Cultural Differences between Twitter and Offline Life article.
Samantha Murphy is a former psychotherapist turned freelance psychotech writer based in “Silicon Pastures”, aka, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She discusses all things psychology, technology, and bacon-related at @smanthamurphy.
