There are two main types of ways that people try to connect with each other: one is sympathy and being able to connect on an emotional level by having similar experiences, the other way is humor.
Everyone wants to laugh; there are comedy shows, newspaper comics, and memes. Memes are something that has happened very recently to digital media because you can find humorous posts on almost any social media platform.
Today I was trying to convince my friend to get a Twitter account because I was tired of sending him screenshots of memes and posts I saw on Twitter. I then tried to explain what can be called “Twitter Humor.” Twitter humor is different than other humor on Instagram and Facebook. Each platform has a niche of humor it is geared toward and while the memes can be funny anywhere, Twitter is the most popular. I say this because at least half of the posts on other platforms are regurgitated screenshots that originated from Twitter. Twitter humor can be witty, clever, relatable and trendy.
When something becomes viral, Twitter will immediately adapt to it and the creativity is almost unmeasurable. Users share and retweet what they find funny and feel connected to the rest of the online community. Friends share with other friends and suddenly information is traveling so fast between people that it enforces the fact that digital media is instantaneous.
Twitter recently expanded their character count to 280 from its original 160. People immediately started taking advantage of this by creating tweets that were incredibly strung out or famous long speeches from movies or popular songs. Facebook and Instagram are virtually unlimited regarding their character count on posts. To combat this before the expanded character count, and even now, some Twitter users will create threads.
I have seen threads that are inclined to politics, personal stories, and news links. They can be so specific that one time I saw a thread that was 50 tweets long- all with tasty and cheaper options to the alcohol Hennessy and reasons why to buy them.
Maybe people don’t realize it, but Twitter shows creativity and diversity. Diversity will make you smarter. The amount of different things I see scrolling for only 20 minutes is unlimited. I learn different perspectives and new things every day. It could just be a funny joke or a reply but things I would never think of and now have access to. When trying to explain to my friend why Twitter humor is so relevant, it’s because it is an opportunity to expand perspective and connect to others.
Another thing I have noticed in the past year is the expansion of the age range of active users on Twitter. This is important because there is this stigma where only millenials are using social media aside from Facebook. And just to remind the readers, millenials are anyone ages 18-40 (ish). This is incredibly not true; my mom uses Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat frequently. I see older user on Twitter consistently becoming viral for sharing their opinions, humorous or not.
Humorous opinions, whether it be political, mental health or current event related, is a way that we try to inform others without being offensive. This sounds like a stretch but the public has a way easier time taking in information when it is not presented in a negative tone. I think people also forget that opinions are subject to change and that’s a GOOD thing.
I have personally read tweets that I found funny yet informative and my perspective changed. I hope this is the same for others because maybe the more we connect with one another, the more progressive we can be.
