T'ext W'hat I'm T'hinking T'o E'veryone R'eading: Twitter, the Facebook status bar without the rest of Facebook. A friendly place for stalkers and people who are willingly telling parts of their lives to those reading. Some say it is the downfall of society. Some say it is a stupid site for stupid people with no lives, who think everyone else cares what they're doing at any given time. Yet, Twitter is supposed to be an online social networking service that enables users to send and read short 140-characters messages called "tweets."
From celebrities to 10-year-olds on their first computers, Twitter exposes its users to tweets including breakfast-cereal updates, interesting new links, music recommendations, and even musings on the future of education. Another popular form of self-expression on Twitter is termed the "subtweet," a shortening of "subliminal tweet" that mentions a Twitter member without using their actual username. Usually employed for negative or insulting tweets, the subtweet is quickly gaining popularity. The person you're mentioning won't see the subtweet on their Twitter timeline, as it doesn't contain the @ symbol that every Twitter username has. Basically, it's talking about someone behind their back, but sort of to their face on Twitter. It's a double entendre in 140 characters or less, sometimes an inside joke between friends or even better, something totally savage.
Passive-aggressiveness and social media have most recently become intertwined. You have a whole audience of people waiting to hear what you have to say, but you can also kind of hide behind the anonymous nature of the internet. Obviously, this is not a positive relationship and sure, no recipient is singled out, but it's clear that your message is intended to target and insult a certain someone. Hurtful, behind-your-back style tweets can be just as damaging as calling someone out to their face, and perhaps even worse in some cases. Subtweeting captures the whole disconnect between trying to be sneaky with still sending your thoughts out all over the internet.
I can admit I've sent my fair share of subtweets. And I can also admit I totally felt ten times better after passive-aggressively putting my thoughts on the internet. Sure, probably no one cares, but I get a sense of validity and significance by sending out a physical representation of my shady thoughts. A sense of relief is always given in return after sharing those thoughts with your social media posse, especially if the feedback you receive is positive. So keep subtweeting and remember: