I just recently got a Twitter account. It was a personal choice to not have one until this summer; I did not get it for my digital writing class. I mainly got it because there is a huge and awesome bookish community. My favorite authors, book podcasters and nerds are on Twitter. I was beginning to feel left out, and considering my dream is to work in publishing some day, I figured having an online presence on a social media that is the new Facebook would benefit me.
So I made a Twitter account. One with a name I can't decide if I still like. I had been on Twitter for one day and had only favorited a couple of things-- I wasn't yet brave enough to post a tweet--and saw, to my astonishment and pleasure, that two people had already followed me. After the initial surprise and sentiment of "people like me!" passed, and after I had followed my first followers, I couldn't help but think that it was a little weird to follow someone who hadn't tweeted a word. I wasn't creeped out by my followers, I was simply baffled. I forgot about it quickly, though. I began to tweet, found out how easy it was, and basically became an expert overnight.
Or so I thought.
From what I had heard and experienced on Pinterest and Goodreads, if you follow someone, they will follow you back. That proved true for Twitter (except in cases of authors, who I didn't expect to follow me), too. I was fine with it, happy even. If I commented on a witty post and followed a fellow tweeter, I'd have a new follower. It was all going smashingly until the day I scrolled through my feed and saw that one of my followers/followed had posted some rather mature images. I've seen mature and graphic pictures before; I'm in college for goodness sake and a good chunk of my life is spent on the Internet. But I do not seek out images of half-naked people displaying their genitalia to the world. Definitely a nope for me.
I had no idea the tweeter would post something like that. The handle was something about baking and cakes, and all of the pictures before the startling ones were of incredible cakes and sweets she had made. So, yes, I was definitely shocked--and a little panicked. I had classmates who had just begun to follow me and one of my professors was following me for a class. Not to mention I hoped to someday get publisher professionals to take notice of me. I, under no circumstances, wanted mature images my mother would be scarred by on my feed.
Thus came the decision that prompted this post: I unfollowed the tweeter. She quit following me. I felt bad, even though no one was hurt. I doubt I ever pass through the tweeter's mind. Still, it got me thinking. Do I have to follow everyone who follows me? If a new follower who I, in turn, follow out of courtesy posts something I do not like or want on my feed, can I unfollow them? What if one of the offenders is a friend? What if I post something that angers or hurts a friend unintentionally? That is the question that worries me the most. It is all fine and well to flippantly follow and unfollow a complete stranger who you will never meet in real life; it is an entirely different beast when friends and family come into the picture.
I've been avoiding attempts to answer this by sidestepping the issue altogether. Meaning, I have not told any of my friends or family I am on Twitter. It sounds cowardly even to my own ears. Still, I know if I tell my friends I am on Twitter, they will follow me, because we're friends and that's what friends do. The last thing I want and I'm sure nobody else does is to have a relationship ruined because of social media. I'm positive it has happened, I just do not want it to happen to me.
Tell me what you think about connecting with friends over social media and if you've ever had qualms about unfollowing someone on Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr. Thank you for reading!
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