Comments on: Generation Y: We're just not that into Twitter

Young adults are heavily involved with social networking, so why haven't they made the move to Twitter? CNET intern Sharon Vaknin has a theory.

[plamormick]

Gen Y- the generation that would suckle its own teat, not for the nourishment, but for the sensation it would cause when the picture is posted on the internet. "Hey- look at me! I've got my own *** in my mouth! I rock!" This attitude/paradigm shouldn't be celebrated- it should be medicated/counseled/eradicated from this generation lest we move from "The Greatest Generation" to "The Lost Generation." Headline in 40 years- "We don't know what happened to them, but you can see pictures of their parties on Flickr"

[cheese3915]

lemme guess, you are not a member of generation y. i just turned 18 so i think i fit the bill. Are you afraid of change? today's society just likes putting things on facebook and stuff like that not because we like to show off, but because we like to communicate and enjoy each others company. If you have children,you may wonder why they go out all the time or why they are always on their phones, but this is because we like to feel in touch and connected. These facebook, myspace and twitter sites are for networking, bringing people together and finding someone like yourself. Yes, there are some people who use these tools to show off and some people do obsess over uploading things and whatnot, but in any given situation, there are moderates radicals and conservatives (people who use it the right amount, people who overuse it, and people who barely use it). just look at what you just did! you left a comment so other people could see what you mean and talk to you. Going back to your old-fashioned simile, i do not suckle my teat for the nourishment, but i do suckle my teat for the feeling of being connected and finding a place where i belong. Thanks

[dzankizakon]

Twitter is boring, chaotic and, of course, even more useless than any social network.

The only thing it contributes to is a falling GDP. Now there's a great illusion of work, sit on your behind and watch what others are "doing" (sweet F.A.) Twitter is as useful as a TV left switched on while you're out. Or a brand new car smashed into a tree. Or a coffee spilled over a laptop. What a waste of everyone's time.

[AllanWhitePDX]

A cursory look at Twitter can appear that way, but I think you're missing some of the power of it.

When describing Twitter, I never show people the website first. I show them Tweetie running on my iPhone; Tweetdeck (if they're a power-user person) running on a desktop; and I show them updates streaming into my website, blog, or other social media stream. The simplicity of it is appealing, frankly; none of the crap that streams through FB (all the pokes, superpokes, flair, and dumb game requests; the "25 Reasons I Hate FB" nailed it. Just... pure thought! And links to all that other stuff, of course.

Twitter is far from perfect, but it's simple and very flexible. It's great for building a personal brand in that space (in spite of the author's comments that it's not), but it does take more time. Important features like groups are missing, and the API seems fragile. There's a wealth of tools out there that give it a lot of value. It's decentralized vs. FB being centralized (both a pro and con).

Used poorly, I can see how it could drop our GDP! Used well, it helps biz users spot opportunities and build brand loyalty (c.f. Comcast, Zappos, et. al.).

[DavidSpinks]

The thing with twitter is, it's not something that you can just jump into and immediately see the benefits. When I joined, I had an account for some time, and barely updated. Eventually I started to connect with people, mostly professionals in my target career path. I started to see the value.

I only graduated about a month ago, and because of twitter I've been able to connect with entire networks of professionals that, because they know me at least a little bit through communicating on twitter, are willing to help me as I get started in my career. I now have a job (started a week after school), am living in a new city and am planning projects with other professionals for the future. Without twitter, I wouldn't have any of these things.

This is the direction that the world is moving in. The face of news, business, and communities have completely changed (for the better IMO) as a result of twitter and the form of communication it has instilled in our society.

Gen-Y may not have been the early adopters, or even later adopters for twitter. To brush it aside as a menial and useless tool is foolish though. If you give it an honest shot, you'll learn to love it the same way you loved myspace and facebook.

Wow.... that was painful to read.

Do we really not only have a generation of narcissists, but a generation of SELF DESCRIBED narcissists? Has an entire generation embraced a personality flaw as their identifying factor?

[coreylarue]

Yes. Yes we have.

[shldvebnacwby]

I'm part of that generation and I don't use twitter because I think that giving status updates to millions of people you don't know is really weird. If I wanted to do that, I'd walk around some city with a whiteboard strapped to my back that says something like "I am walking down the street with a gigantic whiteboard on my back!" then "I am getting lots of crazy looks from random strangers."

No thanks.

[aj37viggen]

shldwhatever, that comment is brilliant!

The scary thing, though, is that if you actually DID walk around some city with a whiteboard strapped to your back, it probably would make a fabulous viral video, and possibly even bring you trad-media attention... which you might be able to parlay into a career move... and then you'd get written up on c|net... and then thousands of Gen Ys would be walking around cities with whiteboards strapped to their backs...

[cheese3915]

i am that gen too and i do use twitter, but not as much because it is a little basic and takes some time to understand. Im not concerned with the security or the fact that people can see my update, its just nobody does it and you could just update your status on facebook

[jessiethe3rd]

What I find funny is the stigma given to Gen Y... with TV's in almost 100% of house holds I would say media has a big part to play in the whole label. It is one of the first generations raised almost primarily on media. Gen Y spends most of its time in front of the tube staring into the life of reality TV. These are their role models.

As far as Twitter goes - it SUCKS. GEN X, GEN Y, GEN Z whoever... it's the media darling and giving updates on your thoughts so all can see all the time just sucks. Following peoples lives around and hearing abou ttheir every babbling sucks as well.

[john55440]

Yes, Twitter sucks, regardless of age group. Among other things, "140 characters or less" is not long enough to say anything interesting.

As for Generation Y, youth has always been wasted on the young. Each new generation of young people have their own unique set of character flaws.

[cvaldes1831]

Actually, Twitter is absolutely perfect for incorrigible attention ho(g)s. The privacy controls are rudimentary; it's a system optimized for people who want lots of followers without a high level of administration.

Twitter is a superb social network system for pornstars.

[Squidkidde]

That article (I'm being generous) could have been boiled down to, "People on Facebook tend not to use Twitter because most of the functionality of Twitter is already available on Facebook." That's hardly worth an entire article or the 5 minutes of my time that was wasted. Moreover the author is confused if she can spend the first half of the article describing how the transition from My Space to Facebook was a move away from "self-branding" only to then expound that, "a good explanation of my generation's lag in joining the Twitter mania is that there isn't an obvious way to achieve a self-brand on Twitter."

This is college freshman writing at best and the author and her "friend" would do well to get over themselves, stop looking in the mirrors that they've created for themselves on the Internet and do something worthwhile.

[ghostfear]

I enjoyed this article, now I know I am at college freshman reading level. Thanks for telling me.

[redwall_hp]

I'm 17.5, and sadly I have very little in common with most people my age. I'm into blogging, web development, and of course Twitter. (Twitter provides interesting links and information, and a chance to put my own sites' content out there. I've had some great conversations over Twitter as well.) And before you Twitter-haters (who generally have never really used the service) go off on me, I was using well before it started getting media attention.

I don't watch much in the way of current TV, mainly older stuff as current content just isn't worth ****. I only watch the occasional new movie. I don't listen to any of the music anyone else listens to (the popular stuff is rubbish. I prefer The Beatles, some small folk groups, or movie soundtracks like Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, or The Phantom of the Opera).

In short, I'd rather read or talk to people online than talk to people my age most of the time...

[ghostfear]

well said, you are rare for your age, thus, by definition, you do not represent your age group. Good point, random people have random thoughts?

[ccmike72]

and this is a good thing?

[hymanroth]

Gen X here - fantastic article, bookmarked.
Rarely have I seen the fundamental requirements for an entire demographic so precisely cross-sectioned.

It may not be flattering, but it certainly rings true.

Thanks

[jusben1369]

Yes I agree. Terrific article. I'm a Gen X'er but it does somewhat ring true. Post something you think is clever and inciteful to twitter? Well nothing really. Post it on FB and you do enjoy the feedback and comments from friends.

Twitter to me seems to be better suited to making definitive statements while FB is better suited to opening up a dialogue and community stuff. However, Twitter is nice because you don't have to worry about filtering who you connect with vs FB where they see inside your world much more deeply.

Anyway, great work Sharon.

[orlandorr]

Twitter's microblogging platform is what many Gen Y's may describe as "like Facebook, but just the status update."

You've just discovered warm water!

[Xerolooper]

Wow, you really don't know anything about how this technology works. I thought Twitter was dumb until I actually signed up at the urging of a friend. The whole concept seems weird, bizare, and anti-social until you actually try it. I now have the ability to twitter a pic from my phone and through Plaxo it updates my Facebook page with a new picture. BTW only friends can see any of it not a million people. I only twitter twice a week or so you don't have to do it all the time. GAC

[kelmon]

Surely you can update your Facebook page with your photo directly from your phone - why bother going through 2 other services to achieve the same goal?

Which is essentially my problem with the service - it simply seems to do stuff that I was already doing with other products.

[cposborne]

Agreed. You wrote this and obviously do not understand Twitter. As for mundane, self-serving comments, I see those on FB NOT on Twitter. The multitude write thought provoking posts, link to pertinent topics and events, and news sharing. I have gotten more information from Twitter each week than on FB in 3 months. It has a marketing relevance that you failed to see. I've seen more posts for the Iranian woes on Twitter than anywhere else. No one posts about stubbing a toe, you're sorely mistaken. You didn't do any reporting for this...just wrote off the top of your misinformed, naive head.

Pathetic, lazy attempt...you missed the whole essence of Twitter. Fail.

[myles taylor]

Exactly what orlandorr said. I just can't get the appeal of twitter and no one has been able to tell me.

[darkxeno]

We all need to remember what the main word in Twitter is..

[esiegmu]

Yeah, "wit."

And you might be surprised at how many people display it, along with useful information, in 140 characters.

[ewsachse]

As a member of Generation X, this is what I have to say to Generation Y.

Get off the damn Internet and either study for for exams, or if you already graduated, then get a frigging job. I am talking about a real job, not some dead end job as a bartender, coffee shop server, or retail store flunky. Put that college degree to work for crying out out.

Also, lay off the tattoos, because if you show up to my work for an interview covered in body art, then we will use your resume to line the bottom of a bird cage.

[jchanski21]

Hi, I'm Gen Y-er.

I grew up with computers. I spent highschool hanging out at coffee shops and instant messaging. I spent college at parties, and remember facebook when it was college-only. I don't have any tattoos, but I think I probably fit your description for most of "us".

I ALSO graduated with a bachelor's degree in Management Information Systems last year, and have a decent paying (45-55k range) professional starting position based on the studying I did for exams, internships I participated in, certifications I achieved, and hard work I've done every summer since being 13 years old.

Thanks for making such an incredibly rude, immature generalization. Peppering it with explatives also helped prove your point. I agree there are many of "us" who aren't using a degree well, as well as many who didn't even bother finishing college. However, there are plenty of "us" like me who grew out of that "phase" and are contributing members of society, while still maintaining a facebook profile and making silly status updates about what we did at 1am on Friday night.

[sharonvak]

jchanski21-
I think you make a VERY important point. Though many of "us" possess at least a small dose of these negative qualities, we are by far one of the most challenged and successful generations. Take one look at how competitive college and grad schools are, and it's easy to see that we're hard-working people.

Previous generations could get away without earning a college degree, and say, go into construction or other technical work. Fortunately for us, we are pushed to learn, grow, and expand our knowledge.

Like you said, we can make positive differences in society while still maintaining a fun cyber-life.

[jacobthestupendous]

That's a laugh: a Gen X'er telling Generation Y to cut their hair and get a job. You sound a lot like a baby boomer in the late 80's.

[starz188zs]

Hi, I'm also a Gen Y-er and I completely agree with jchanski21.

I grew up on computers too. I spent high school going to parties, playing sports, and getting straight A's. I didn't hang out in coffee shops, but as I got older, I worked those "dead-end" jobs as a waiter, bartender, groundskeeper and served as one of the millions of people who keep the economy running.

I went to college and I partied. I worked as a bartender to help pay my own way, and these days I'm making my own payments for my student loans. I got my degree, just like you Gen-Xers said I should - and then I watched as a bunch of Gen-Xer and "Greatest Generation" policies allowed an global recession ruin millions of lives.

Nevertheless, I persevered and got a professional career started. There are many "narcissistic Gen-Yers" like myself and jchanski21 who are making a successful life out of the mess that the uber-wise Gen-Xers created.

We pay our taxes...some of us go to college...others enter the workforce and (try to) keep the economy flowing while the obviously important ewsachse goes about their life.

So what if I maintain a Facebook page and a Twitter profile? I use them as sources for information, to connect with others and share ideas, and also to further my career. Your short-sidedness is very apparent is your post ewsachse - if you can't embrace the current/future relevance of sites like Facebook and Twitter, at the very least leave your bitter and misguided comments to yourself.

Thank you to the author Sharon Vaknin for the article. I actually use Twitter quite a bit, but I'm also in the communications industry, and so it's a must. But you're right about Facebook still being the preferred social site amongst us Gen-Yers. I check my profile daily!

[Renegade Knight]

@jchanski21

It's an accurate generalization. Generalizations are not disproven because you got a job. However if all of you did what you did, the generlaization would be different. Boomers don't have a hard time with the facts of life. They are "street" smart in customer service and the right thing to do. Xer's aren't quite as bright as Boomers in these things. Y'ers by and large amost all need to be led by the bit to the right answer. Good customer servcie is alien to them. The loss though applies to all aspecsts of life. They all have in common they think they have it right.

@ sharonvak

Wrong. The Y generation will be the first with a standard of living worse than their parents. Your generation will be challenged but your success as a whole is limited by the larger culture of your generation which as it happens you inherit from the X'ers. Any one of you can do well. But generations are "everone" from the era.

[cdwilliams1]

I think it's kind of funny that the author believes social networking started with Myspace. Friendster had a good run before that. What about buddy lists and profiles with AOL instant messenger? Trolling the AOL index for the cute people and checking out their profile? That was huge for a while too. Leaving status updates while away and customizing your avatar were the big thing. Remember when everyone had a Geocities pages? How about when the original AOL had it's day? These fad sites just continue. Perhaps at least the narcissistic part is right. Social netowrking didn't start until the author decided to try myspace. Very self centered indeed.

[Resvon]

You're forgetting the original Usenet newsgroups which formed their own communities around rec.foo.bar, etc. There you had to express yourself not with music, pictures, fonts, or colors but with thoughts and words (gasp!).

[chrisrimple]

GenXer here, online since 1982. Back then, "social networking" was via dial-up Bulletin Board Systems, with a monthly "pizza party" at a local restaurant so that we could move to face-to-face social networking. Instant Messaging was 1-1 between the BBS System Operator (SysOp) and the caller. Eventually CompuServe was born, and CB made it possible for the masses to have multi-person chat...

[cnet_apurva]

http://socialapp.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/facebook-status-and-twitter-updates/

[sunthedeep]

As a 20 year old college student, I must say that the internet is the best tool I have found for studying for exams or getting a job. Wikipedia does wonders for understanding concepts, and there are plenty of forums that have answers to, or are willing to answer any academic question you have. As for jobs, I can access job listings, post resumes, research grad schools (im going for a bio phd), etc. all online. Everyone I know has an internship for the summer, so its not just me, either. Sure I like my video games, youtube, facebook, gtalk and all, but its not just fun and games.

[TimMyers]

Yeah, I definitely see Twitter as something for the old folks to think they're cool. I don't plan on joining. I almost got an account just to reserve a url with my name but someone already had it. There's much more to see in life than 140 characters can tell us.

[Chapmaniac]

I can sum up in two words why I canceled my Twitter account: "Twitter Spam."

Right after joining - even though I'm set to private, I started getting "I'm following you" notices by spambots. I would get two or three of these a day. My new networking favorite is Facebook - awesome site!

[jacobthestupendous]

The biggest hurdle to the younger generations taking Twitter seriously is the voracity with which the Baby Boomers have latched onto it. When the cast of The View goes on and on about Tweeting, it guarantees that people like me will never ever give it a chance. Anyone who has ever laughed understandingly about having a "senior moment" instantly imbues anything they like with lameness, and Twitter has been thoroughly saturated.

[Renegade Knight]

I see you speak like a true member of your generation.

[hexjones]

I think twitter is awesome, you can say everything you need to in 140. I prefer to write all tweets as haiku.