Majority in Hi-Line poll find problems with subtweeting

By: Annebeth Ahrenholz

Ten years ago, those who had something to say about someone were likely to speak face to face with the subjects of their troubles or at least to share with other accomplises in gossip. But that was before social media, before Twitter.

Twitter has invented a different and easier way of “indirectly” gossiping. Indirect tweeting or “subtweeting” has become a normal and casual way for many teens to express how they feel for everyone to see.

Of the 120 CFHS students recently surveyed, 55 percent said that subtweeting was an issue in our high school, and 45 percent said it was not, though comments on these findings varied widely. Some teens would say it is extremely offensive and causes a lot of hard feelings towards one another. “Subtweeting is a problem because it further advances the amount of beef between two people,” junior Jacob Hovanec said.

Others said that subtweeting isn’t an issue because it is completely pointless and it isn’t worth causing problems over. “All subtweeting does is make the problem worse. When people see that they have been indirectly tweeted at, it just makes them upset. It doesn’t fix anything. It’s not a big problem, but it’s pointless and can make people upset,” sophomore Madison Schulte said.

Reasons for people to subtweet can differ. Many times when someone indirect tweets at someone or about someone, they only do it so that that person will see that they are upset. They just want a way to express their emotions or they are trying to prove a point. The only problem, of course, is more than just that one person sees it — all of their followers get to see it too. “A lot of times people subtweet about others to prove a point, but most of the time it is unnecessary or goes too far and feelings can quickly get hurt,” sophomore Madison Schulte said.

CFHS staff have a different view on subtweeting than most students. They probably see more of an issue with it because tweeting can be seen as harassment.  “I definitely think it’s an issue. I think it’s an easy way to harass one another without talking about the issue face to face,” counselor Erin Gardiner said.

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