We all write all day long, but we never think about how our writing changes from person to person or from social media to work to school. Nobody writes the same everywhere and on everything. You might write shorter in pen and longer when typing. It obviously will be more formal emailing a professor versus texting a friend. I think about how different my writing can be when it comes to writing a formal paper and even writing this blog, and they are two different entities completely. When writing a paper for another class I know my sentences are longer and I use all my SAT, 25 cent words I can think of to make me sound smart, but then when it comes to a blog such as this I am informal. I am just writing how I feel leaving out all those words to make me look smart because frankly its not as important as just saying what I mean. But, what’s the reason for a change?
Its all about audience. This is the biggest change when going from social media platform to platform, but user experience is also different. If I’m posting on twitter I probably wont be posting a picture along with it, but on Instagram a picture is required to post any sort of text. Which is already a very different writing experience, even down to how much I write and how often I post. On twitter I am more likely to make short little snippets about whatever I’m thinking, but when it comes to Instagram or Facebook I am more likely to plan what to say and think more thoroughly about what I am posting. With Instagram specifically, I think more about what may make others like my photo or like my caption, but on Twitter it just feels like a little diary and I’m just putting out whatever comes to my mind instead of what other people will like. It is about who is going to be viewing this. Instagram is geared more towards teens, with 72% of teens having an account. Twitter is geared towards older teens and young adults, and Facebook is usually geared towards older adults. This is a big explanation for the content posted and the interactions online.
I like to think that I just post what I want, but in actuality I probably think more about what others think when I post everything than I would like to say. Nothing is really exactly how you feel. On the internet as much as people say they just post exactly what they are thinking we all probably think about how others will perceive it. I wouldn’t post about fighting with my boyfriend or how the school is crushing me on Facebook for all my family to see, and I probably wouldn’t post about the update that I’ll be home for a couple days next week on twitter for my friends to see, I would just text them. We are all showing a different part of ourselves to different audiences every time we post. Social media and the internet has changed how we all talk to each other down to the smallest moments of communication. So next time you’re online maybe stop and think about why you post what you do and who its for.
Literature & the Internet 