Autoethnographic Writing Assignment: Everyday Media Ideologies

Guanwen Fu

ANT 253H: Language and Society

November 22, 2022

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My social media platform of choice is Twitter. I started using Twitter in 2017, which has

remained a part of my daily routine. Here, users post and interact with messages known as

tweets, typically sent by other users. The range of topics and material one is exposed to depends

on which accounts and what topics a user follows. I enjoy Twitter because events and opinions

are often filtered through the perspectives of diverse users allowing for informed decision-

making.

Types And Modalities of Communication

I use Twitter mostly for news, entertainment, and staying in touch with friends. Twitter

has a broad spectrum of users across the globe who update on events in real time. Many

journalists and reputable Newsrooms have Twitter accounts that constantly update on emerging

stories. I see viral tweets, videos, and images making waves online for entertainment. I also

communicate with friends through the direct message platform, where I can send and receive

messages.

Likes, retweets, and comments are the three key modes of communication on Twitter.

Liking implies a user is pleased by the content, while retweeting is similar to reposting the tweet,

and commenting adds information, clarity, or criticism. Users can follow accounts focusing on

the content that most appeals to them. Persons who generate viral content and celebrities tend to

have many followers with thousands of likes, retweets, and comments. Users can also requote a

tweet that allows them to post a caption of an entire tweet. A relatively new feature is Twitter

spaces. Here, various users can meet and have meetings over audio means and discuss issues of

preference. Twitter tailors trending topics according to the location and interests of the individual

user. By tailoring trends to individual users, Twitter allows for multiple ideologies of various

users, a possibility highlighted by Ross ( 2019).

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Using Twitter

Twitter has several unwritten rules that one needs to know. Tweets are limited by

character length to 280 characters, producing a unique set of likelihoods and limitations (Yeng

2022). Until recently, the limit was only 140 characters per tweet. Users only send short, precise

tweets making it fast and easy to scroll through. In place of characters, users, including myself,

tend to attach an image to the tweets as images may convey what the few words could not. Often,

users post a series of linked tweets addressing an issue called threads. Another rule is that users

tend not to use their real names, instead preferring nicknames. Even if you know someone in real

life, you are not supposed to expose them online or sabotage their cover. Most topics, whether

controversial or not, are often under discussion on Twitter. Twitter's algorithm, unlike

Facebook’s, has minimal censorship against controversial topics. Many activists and social

movements have often used Twitter to voice their ideas and engage with a wide population. For

example, the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt in 2011 that toppled the respective government

began and spread on Twitter (Tufekci 2014, 8).

I reply quickly to any responses with words or simply liking or retweeting a response.

Fast responses generate traffic and are likely to make a tweet trend. Appropriate use of Twitter

advocates respect for freedoms, mindfulness, and empathetic self-expression. A violation of

these regulations could easily get one’s account suspended. One of my earlier accounts was

suspended due to suspicious activity from a hacking attempt. Former US President Donald

Trump had his Twitter suspended after he used the site to spread allegations of election fraud,

although it was recently reinstated (Dang and Coster 2022).

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Twitter and Other Platforms

Twitter users have an elitist mentality and tend to look down on Facebook and Instagram.

From the beginning, Twitter was primarily viewed as a news platform where contemporary

issues would be discussed. It tends to attract the active participation of leading voices in society

from presidents, scientists, sportspersons, and many newsmakers. Twitter users see Facebook as

lacking the urgency for serious discussions but instead as a place for friends, family, and fun

(McDermott 2014).

Instagram and Snapchat emphasize looks that tend to put off Twitter enthusiasts. I think

Reddit comes close to Twitter in terms of the population it attracts and the manner of

interactions. There is also a general sense that the other social media sites focus on issues after

Twitter has made them a trend. For instance, during the uproar after Michael Brown was killed in

police custody, Facebook was behind twitter in generating conversation on police brutality

(Bonilla and Rosa 2015, 8).

Semiotic Modalities

Twitter has several semiotic modalities that are crucial to any new user. For instance, a

tweet is the sound of a small bird. The blue bird on the logo represents freedom of expression

and the fast speed at which information spreads on Twitter. The constraints on character length

produced tendencies to shorten words and use acronyms. My favourite is #TGIF, which means

Thank God It’s Friday, signalling the weekend's festivities. The hashtag represents a topic of

interest that people are discussing. Tweeting with a hangtag increases the tweet's visibility and

links it to a broader conversation around a certain topic. Twitter polls are also common and are

used as a vote where people are told to select several options. Such polls offer a user a snapshot
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of people's opinions on the issue. Emojis are also a common feature on Twitter, with their

interpretation depending on one’s environment. Each user has a name that can be changed as

often as they wish and a handle that begins with @. This handle cannot be changed and is the

identifier of an account.

Disagreements over Twitter

I have run into several arguments with people over Twitter, with many saying it is boring

and lacks the glamour of Instagram or TikTok. They claimed Twitter was too serious and

unattractive to the younger generations. However, I held that twitter is attractive as it

incorporates a subtle balance between entertainment and learning. We could not agree, and we

all chose to remain active on our platforms.

Conclusion

Twitter is a community where members follow a certain convention when

communicating. I use Twitter for news, entertainment, and social networking. There are

unwritten rules on how to be on Twitter and make the best use of the site, which are important to

follow. Twitter balances entertainment and staying up-to-date, giving it an edge over other sites.
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References

Bonilla, Yarimar, and Jonathan Rosa. "#Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial

politics of social media in the United States." American Ethnologist 42, no. 1 (2015), 4-17.

doi:10.1111/amet.12112.

Dang, Sheila, and Helen Coster. "Trump Snubs Twitter After Musk Announces Reactivation of Ex-

president's Account." Reuters. Last modified November 20, 2022.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/musks-twitter-poll-showing-narrow-majority-want-trump-

reinstated-2022-11-20/.

McDermott, John. "Why Facebook is for Ice Buckets, Twitter is for Ferguson." Digiday. Last modified

September 14, 2014. https://digiday.com/media/facbeook-twitter-ferguson/.

Ross, Scott. "Being Real on Fake Instagram: Likes, Images, and Media Ideologies of Value." Journal of

Linguistic Anthropology 29, no. 3 (2019), 359-374. doi:10.1111/jola.12224.

Tufekci, Zeynep. "Big Questions for Social Media Big Data: Representativeness, Validity and Other

Methodological Pitfalls." Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social

Media 8, no. 1 (2014), 505-514. doi:10.1609/icwsm.v8i1.14517.

Yeung, S. " Communication and Social Media (I)." Lecture notes, University of Toronto, November 22,

2022