Messages in a digital bottle: The science behind Twitter trends

Follow me on Twitter! Check my Facebook status! WhatApp! These are the buzz words of today’s uber-connected information-right-now generation. 

The past 10 months has witnessed a dramatic increase in online and social interactions due to factors like the imposition of bans and the reactions that they beget. This situation has brought about a momentous opportunity for increased democratisation in the nation, as was first witnessed during the “Arab spring” of 2011.

In a dipstick survey I had conducted to determine the level of participation by the urban population on Twitter, it was revealed that Twitter users tend to be younger than social media users in general. Though the sample size was limited, of the 100 netizens who took the survey, 79 respondents belonged to the age group of 20-35 years, which also happens to be the target audience for many advertisers.



It is not surprising that the mainstream Indian media and journalists have tapped into this rich medium to get a sense of what matters to this ‘aspiring’ group of people.

What happened with #aamirkhan?

Let’s understand this with the help of the hashtag that was trending voluminously on Twitter and Facebook last week- #aamirkhan. According to Twitter analytics tool Topsy, it remained the most discussed topic from November 23-29, with about 4,600 tweets; and over 80,000 conversations related to #intolerance.





Without delving into the extrapolated debate of whether the media raised a mountain out of a molehill, it is important to note that social and traditional media clearly supplemented each other, making a case for inter-media agenda setting. Also, notwithstanding the fact that only about 17 percent of the Indian population have access to the Internet, much lower than the global average, this data reveals the proliferating impact of social media in the public sphere. So here we have one controversy, pertinent to a celebrated actor’s statement, and it had the potential to move masses in thousands and unite them using a single hashtag. But how?

Twitter is an "urgent" medium

The logistics of Twitter are unique. Users being only allowed to use 140 characters, the medium requires captivating and arresting messages in order to draw attention from its readers. According to Marshall McLuhan’s famous theory "the medium is the message", it is not what we say, but the way we said it that matters the most; the words we use are not as important as the way we choose to say them. McLuhan’s theory still holds value to the way we use social media today. As a medium of communication, Twitter is meant to captivate and tap into our short-term attention spans. It is targeting those individuals who are too busy to read an entire article, blog or newspaper.

From the above tweets, it is evident that general users became a part of the larger issue. And through the micro-blogging app, they achieved prompt participation despite constantly being on the move. Twitter hence becomes the “Message of urgency”.

Self-benefaction boosts mass participation

According to my survey findings, most users tweet or retweet when they possess a sense of belonging to a particular issue or a group of people, and when they want to make their stand or express their opinions on a free platform. Hence, the medium “gives them something to talk about with friends.”

Uses and gratifications on Twitter

This observation is in lieu with Blumler and Katz’ Uses and Gratifications theory, which is an audience-centered theory that explains why and how people actively seek out specific media (in this case Twitter) to satisfy specific needs. For most users, Twitter tends to create for themselves a social media echo chamber. Users connect to people or comment on issues with whom they share a common background. Their opinions reinforce each others’.

Twitter also recommends new people to follow based on who you already follow and your own interests. As such, users tend to create for themselves a little “social media bubble”, where people have very similar opinions and interests. The Internet and social media have opened up a whole new horizon not only for information sharing, but also for the advancement of the right to freedom of expression and opinion. An increasing number of human rights activists, dissidents, as well as marginalised and vulnerable groups are utilising the Internet to get their voices heard, especially in countries where traditional media are not free.

It is pertinent, therefore, to take a note of the effects that tumultuous issues on social media may have on future practices, challenges, and understandings of free expression, and particularly, to consider their implications on digital environments.