Twitter

As I argued in an earlier post, I believe that blogs can be a positive force in democratic politics and civic engagement: http://orwellianspin.blogspot.com/2009/03/newspapers-blogs.html

But I'm not a fan of self-indulgent blogs, social-climbing facebook sites, or the latest fad, Twitter. I survived high school, thank God, and I fail to see the attraction of returning to that world of popularity contests and status ranking. If connecting people and fueling dialogue are the internet's virtues, then facilitating banal exhibitionism and encouraging a hyper-personalized culture are its vices.

If you are, like me, baffled by Twitter, then you might find this Slate article interesting: http://www.slate.com/id/2215829

It asks, "To vast swaths of the population, though, Twitter is inscrutable: Wait a minute—you want me to keep a perpetual log of my boring life for all the world to see? What if I just spend my free time watching Golden Girls?"

But if you like to spend your free time telling the world about what you ate for breakfast and your choice of underwear, then you're likely not reading this blog anyways.

If youth can be wasted on the young, maturity can be wasted on the middle-aged.