Although we are all encouraged to be ourselves on Twitter, some users may take it too far.
Twitter is home to millions of individuals who sometimes bring a completely different persona to their “timelines.” I’m sure we all know that one person who is outspoken on Twitter but barely has anything to say in real life.
We don’t all represent the personalities we present to social networks, but does this affect our ability to show our authentic selves outside of the virtual world?
Some outrageous posts may take the world by storm, and our opinions on Twitter are sometimes never displayed in reality. Twitter has become a venting room for us to express ourselves in a better way than we normally would in person. But has this “Twitter personality” gone too far?
In a recent Twitter question, I asked my followers, “Do people show their REAL personalities on Twitter?” Most answers were geared towards wanting attention.
“I believe some portray a life they would like to lead but are too shy, afraid or timid in front of others,” said Shay’vonta Banner, a fourth-year Florida State student from Ft. Lauderdale.
“Behind a phone/computer screen, no one can see or hear you so it’s easy to hide behind an avi and be the coolest with over 1,000 followers but only have two real friends in reality.”
Attention is the driving force of how individuals portray themselves for their followers. Without the attention from our followers and the amount of “retweets” we get, the urge to be a consistent “personality” on Twitter wouldn’t be so urgent.
Most social network users wouldn’t care to revisit these sites if they weren’t receiving attention. There’s nothing wrong with broadcasting the life you lead, but when separate lives are created, it seems excessive and unhealthy to the authentic version of who you truly are.
No matter what you use Twitter for, you should never take away from your true brand. Some people won’t forget the things you post and will automatically assume the tweets you make are the real you without even getting to know you.
“It definitely depends on the person and their intentions on using Twitter,” said Faith Grant, a fourth-year criminal justice student from Miami. “Some people use it for business and some don’t. I don’t think your personality can be transcribed through media networks. The first word in personality is person.”
Twitter can be used as a secret weapon for many different platforms, but the number one goal is to make sure that you stay true to yourself.