I have to preface what follows to avoid misinterpretations. I really hate it when lefty commentators pile on about the habits and behaviors of masses of people, typically pontificating about how stupid or manipulated everyone other than themselves, is – for being religious, for liking sports, or whatever else. It so often is self serving blather coming from an elitist perch. But if we don’t disrespect the fact that people are desperate, are constrained in their options, and are just trying to get by with a smile – not so bad a thing – and often they do it at least somewhat successfully, we still have to admit that the result, writ large, can be pretty depressing. Everyone thinks what they are doing is rooted in their own priorities, a manifestation of their own personal freedom, even – and yet so many are winding up in a communicative cage of sorts, sharing space with so many others – smiling, and all slip sliding away from their own greatest potentials, not to mention from addressing society’s woes constructively.
Twitter is humongous. And while there seems to be a downturn at Facebook – especially among young users – Twitter is still growing like a vicious virus. Critics of these giant corporations for being repositories of private data for corporate and government exploitation and for debasing the notion of friendship while obliterating attention spans, etc., should not get overly excited by Facebook declining. The reason it is declining, pundits report, is that parents have been bugging their kids on it, and kids, en masse, are deciding they need to find a new place to hang out without mom and dad. Okay, I can get behind that sentiment, but I can’t claim it augers growing awareness.
Okay, back to Twitter. Set aside the spying aspect and the normal debits Twitter shares with all major corporations, like exploiting its workers and debasing the environment. Yes, those debits should cause every leftist to want to escape Twitter if it is remotely possible for them to do so, or to use it only critically, if they must use it at all, while trying to aid creation of a left alternative. But is there any other problem with Twitter?
Well, Tweets have limited length – 140 characters. So we might consider the impact of trying to communicate in spurts on the mindsets of those who relate a lot. But who is that? Well, the going wisdom is that Twitter is becoming a major platform for people to get news and to interact with ideas. Seriously? Well, yes, or so I am told. And then of course there is the race to gain followers as an indication of popularity, etc. Considering the length limit, the competition for followers, etc., we might speculate that Twitter, and Tweeting, tend to strongly bias communications toward snippets designed to please. We might also guess Twitter tends to gobble up people’s time and energy in huge gobs, so you don’t miss anything and get your own snippets circulating, but in a manner that drowns out people giving real time and energy to any specific substantive focus. More time for communicating more and more, about less and less. Perhaps that means vapidity will rise. Substance will decline. But that is just a hypothesis. It is only a guess. And, it of course doesn’t say that people can’t use the tool sometimes, in positive ways – albeit, in doing so, legitimating it and arguably preventing any alternative from taking its place. Sort of like using a handgun to shoot a rattlesnake and not your neighbor or spouse. Still, it is all hypothesis.
And I admit that I don’t have a lot of facts to warrant, or, what I would prefer, to refute, my worries. My contact with Twitter is almost all anecdotal, though it does tend to suggest a literal falling off the cliff for humanity. Maybe others can do a serious study about something other than its stock prospects. Recently, however, I did come across some actual data. And while I am cynical about the prospects of many people using Twitter for intelligent expression and the implications even of people doing that, and while I am downright apoplectic about the overall picture, I was nonetheless taken aback by the facts. You can judge for yourself.
But keep this in mind when, if you are a Twitterer, you feel indignant and want to hell at me that you use it well, and I shouldn’t bash what I haven’t tried, and something you make good use of. In the U.S., no doubt there are people who use hand guns for reasonable – but I doubt wonderful – purposes. They get indignant too, when someone says the obvious – the widespread use of guns in the U.S., as generated by social pressures and administered by large corporate suppliers, is a calamity. so that if you look a what their prevalence produces, you see carnage.
As of my writing this, the most followed person on Twitter was Katy Perry, a popular singer, with 46,561,179 followers. Think about that. In areas of the U.S. where Twitter use is highest – wherever that might be – it likely means at least one in five people are – yes, following Katy Perry. Across the country, likely about one in ten are doing so. Seriously? Is she so brilliant that 140 character entires from her warrant people “following” her? Well, her last Tweet – before the report I saw – was: “Sometimes I can get a little crabby.” Fascinating. Here is a longer look into her thinking – quoted in an article about her: “I feel like my secret magic trick that separates me from a lot of my peers is the bravery to be vulnerable and truthful and honest. I think you become more relatable when you’re vulnerable. When you try to market yourself like some supernatural figurine who can’t be fucked with, I always resort back to Scripture: Pride comes before a fall.” Wow. Perhaps 140 characters makes sense for some folks lest we be blinded by the light of their insights. But no wonder she has 46.5 million followers. She is so wise beyond her 29 years.
The second most followed Tweeter is Justin Bieber, another popular singer, with 46,526,319 followers. And here is his most recent tweet, at time of writing: “Obrigado Brazil!!! Paraguay is next.” I don’t think he is planning world domination. Perhaps it is about soccer. I guess you have to be 1 of 46.5 million people to be sure. And willing to follow this 20 year old like he is a worthy guru for all humanity. Justin has been in the news recently too – was he out demonstrating against the NSA?, was he raising consciousness about poverty or global warming? – well, no, apparently, instead, he launched a barrage of eggs at his next door neighbor’s house. After all, he is only 20, albeit richer than Midas.
Next comes Lady Gaga, another singer, with 40,383,118 followers. I think Gaga is somewhat feminist, perhaps interesting as a dinner partner, even. But in snippets? Her latest is: “Worried you won’t get into the album release party? DONT! It will be live streamed by @ClearChannel w/ host @RyanSeacrest!” Oh Boy, an ad. No wonder people click to follow her. Where do I go to get in line? I want more ads in my life, too. And Seacrest – well, he is apparently now primarily a hashtag entity.
Barack Obama, President of the United States, is next with 39,214,102. Is this a better harbinger of popular seriousness than the three above, or worse? You decide. His most recent Tweet: “Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the committed couples in Illinois whose love will now be as legal as ours.” How sweet – and very informative too. I wonder if he typed it right after typing up a list of people to incinerate from the sky. Hmm, perhaps he should tweet that list for his followers.
Taylor Swift, singer, has 36,167,890 followers. She of Grammies galore, and she plays guitar too, as well as writing the songs and singing them. So she is probably interesting person – and may remain such if she isn’t turned into a degenerate ego maniac by the star making machine – but 140 character tweets to 36 million people? I think you are probably getting the drift – but here are some things to keep you eyes out for, as you peruse the rest of the list below. First, note the number of women with followers. Quite striking, I think. Then, note how many you have heard of as being important figures in issues of the intellect or of social practice which is also striking, albeit in the opposite direction. I saw one writer on the list – a novelist. I didn’t see a single scientist of any sort. I saw not one person with an iota of political/social involvement other than Obama, that is, unless you count Russell Brand. The list I saw had the top 140 people in terms of followers. Here are the rest, lagging behind the above top five.
You decide what it all means. I should be honest, it isn’t that I think everyone on here is of zero interest. I like the work, or at least some of it, in their own field, of some who appear – Lady Gaga, Ellen Degeneres, Adele, Lebron James, Tom Hanks, but to follow?
6. YouTube, video sharing site, 35,643,583
7. Britney Spears, singer, 33,795,005
8. Rihanna, singer, 32,369,513
9. Instagram, social photo site, 28,756,616
10. Justin Timberlake, singer, 27,936,121
11. Twitter, the social media site’s official account, 26,310,573
12. Jennifer Lopez, singer, 24,958,876
13. Ellen DeGeneres, talk show host, 23,324,423
14. Shakira, singer, 22,657,147
15. Cristiano Ronaldo, footballer, 22,388,208
16. Oprah Winfrey, TV presenter, 21,865,247
17. P!nk, singer, 20,595,888
18. Demetria Lovato, singer, 19,656,389
19. Kim Kardashian, reality TV star, 18,675,863
20. Adele, singer, 18,339,044
21. Alicia Keys, singer, 17,481,572
22. Harry Styles, One Direction, 17,444,992
23. Kaka, footballer, 17,200,089
24. Nicki Minaj, singer, 17,117,304
25. Bruno Mars, singer, 17,110,453
26. Selena Gomez, singer, 16,949,270
27. One Direction, boy band, 16,067,670
28. Eminem, singer, 16,045,606
29. Niall Horan, One Direction, 15,377,692
30. Ashton Kutcher, actor, 15,193,573
31. Miley Cyrus, singer, 14,988,627
32. Pitbull, singer, 14,751,960
33. Lil Wayne Weezy, singer, 14,028,868
34. Liam Payne, One Direction, 13,999,249
35. Avril Lavigne, singer, 13,802,610
36. Mariah Carey, singer, 13,722,597
37. Louis Tomlinson, One Direction, 13,770,818
38. Bill Gates, inventor, 13,686,545
39. Twitter en espanol, Twitter’s Spanish account, 13,303,221
40. Chris Brown, singer, 13,160,903
41. CNN Breaking News, news site, 13,154,498
42. Drake, rapper, 13,022,993
43. Beyonce, singer, 12,869,33
44. Facebook, social network, 12,508,247
45. Paris Hilton, socialite, 12,143,891
46. Ryan Seacrest, TV presenter, 11,975,948
47. David Guetta, DJ, 11,753,145
48. Jim Carrey, actor, 11,585,500
49. Wiz Khalifa, singer, 11,015,844
50. Zayn Malik, One Direction, 10,967,944
51. Snoop Dogg, singer, 10,951,083
52. UberSocial, social site, 10,936,742
53. Ariana Grande, singer, 10,827,578
54. Ashley Tisdale, actress, 10,770,145
55. Emma Watson, actress, 10,730,063
56. Coldplay, band, 10,682,928
57. CNN, news site, 10,599,017
58. Tyra Banks, model, 10,534,196
59. Jimmy Fallon, comedian, 10,511,126
60. Christina Aguilera, singer, 10,177,752
61. will.i.am, singer, 10,028,594
62. Alejandro Sanz, singer, 10,021,272
63. FC Barcelona, football club, 10,019,077
64. Charlie Sheen, actor, 9,968,502
65. LeBron James, basketball player, 9,934,192
66. The New York Times, newspaper, 9,785,818
67. Kanye West, singer, 9,762,529
68. MTV, music channel, 9,741,616
69. Kourtney Kardashian, reality TV star, 9.456,552
70. Ricky Martin, singer, 9,417,930
71. Diddy, singer, 9,361,319
72. Agnez Mo, singer, 9,277,826
73. Conan O’Brien, TV presenter, 9,247,258
74. Real Madrid FC, football club, 9,236,237
75. TwitPic, photo sharing, 9,043,805
76. Carly Rae Jepsen, singer, 8,972,029
77. Ivete Sangalo, singer, 8,892,892
78. Neymar Junior, footballer, 8,865,730
79. Daniel Tosh, comedian, 8,831,831
80. Kevin Hart, actor, 8,800,470
81. Paulo Coelho, writer, 8,589,073
82. Kelly Clarkson, singer, 8,541,415
83. Usher, singer, 8,532,702
84. Simon Cowell, music producer, 8,489,047
85. Juanes, singer, 8,460,856
86. Khloe Kardashian, reality TV star, 8,455,363
87. Ludacris, singer, 8,43,687
88. NBA, National Basketball Association, 8,389,796
89. Ed Sheeran, singer, 8,132,288
90. Leonardo DiCaprio, actor, 8,046,480
91. Paulina Rubio, singer, 7,966,280
92. Dalai Lama, spiritual leader, 7,947,162
93. Programa Panico, Brazilian TV programme, 7,938,774
94. Ronaldinho Gaucho, footballer, 7,725,864
95. BBC Breaking News, news site, 7,694,941
96. LMFAO, band, 7,662,096
97. Shaquille O’Neal, ex-basketball player, 7,660,306
98. Claudia Leitte, singer, 7,591,538
99. Nick Jonas, singer, 7,543,107
100. Funny or Die, video site, 7,411,275
101. Google, multi-national corporation, 7,434,529
102. Lindsay Lohan, actress, 7,391,477
103. 50 Cent, singer, 7,377,611
104. Luciano Huck, TV presenter, 7,300,843
105. Ramalan Indonesia, astrology site, 7,258,854
106. Tom Hanks, actor, 7,239,228
107. ESPN, news site, 7,126,116
108. Russell Brand, comedian, 7,075,914
109. Mohamad Alarefe, Islamist theologian, 7,055,683
110. Neil Patrick Harris, actor, 7,029,987
111. Gerard Pique, footballer, 6,976,585
112. Andres Iniesta, footballer, 6,973,204
113. Sherina Munaf, actress, 6,959,297
114. Marcos Mion, TV presenter, 6,870,684
115. Amitabh Bachchan, Bollywood actor, 6,866,117
116. Jessica Simpson, singer, 6,854,487
117. Maroon 5, band, 6,795,783
118. Anahi, actress, 6,786,064
119. Sabrina Sato Rahal, TV presenter, 6,634,548
120. Jessica Alba, actress, 6,621,361
121. Trey Songz, singer, 6,560,101
122. Jessie J, singer, 6,542,080
123. Victoria Beckham, fashion designer, 6,504,664
124. Eva Longoria, actress, 6,476,578
125. Nicole Polizzi, reality TV star, 6,411,887
126. Victoria Justice, actress, 6,345,437
127. Kendall Jenner, TV star, 6,331,016
128. Stephen Fry, comedian, 6,287,796
129. Breaking News, news site, 6,239,711
130. Perez Hilton, blogger, 6,141,028
131. Enrique Iglesias, singer, 6,101,599
132. Zac Efron, actor, 6,093,329
133. Sports Center, news site, 6,087,431
134. Joe Jonas, singer, 6,048,907
135. Rafinha Bastos, TV presenter, 5,902,070
136. Vine, video app, 5,890,162
137. Samsung mobile, mobile company, 5,867,348
138. David Bisbal, singer, 5,850,293
139. OMG facts, facts website, 5,822,921
140. Ne-Yo, singer, 5,807,825
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