Last Wednesday Twitter had a shut down. People all around the globe couldn't twit and for some, they felt really bad. Isolated, neglected, abandoned accompanied with cold sweat, shivering and depression.
I on the other hand went out with my wife, had some ice cream, went into the hot tub and had a baby and than back home. It's a pretty nice day. Actually, it was one of the best days of my life. But I don't think I will be doing that every time Twitter has a shut down. I already have five children (not all born in Twitter shutdowns though) and if I would continue to have babies in every shutdown we have to start calling us "the Twuggars".
I'm on paternity leave, so I decided not to tweet. Well, starting after I had tweeted about the birth of my son. And I did. I didn't tweet for more than 24 hours! But I'm back to tweeting.
How do you know when your Twitting behavior has become an addiction? Ask yourself those questions:
Twittoholic Screening Test
1. Have you lost time from work because of Twitting?
2. Is twitting making your boss unhappy?
3. Is twitting affecting your reputation?
4. Do you convince your self the affect on your reputation is positive which is why you not only should but must continue to twit?
5. Have you ever felt remorse after twitting?
6. Have you ever twitted when you knew you should be doing something else?
7. Have you ever continued to twit when asked to stop?
8. Have you ever jeopardized your health or the one of others by twitting, (like mobile twitting while driving)?
9. Do you feel irritation if you haven't twitted for some time?
10. Have you ever twitted before breakfast?
11. Do you want to twit the next morning?
12. Does twitting interfere with your sleeping habits?
13. Has twitting caused arguments or disagreements with your spouse?
14. Has your efficiency decreased since twitting?
15. Do you reply to twelebrities (twitter-celebrities) to build up your self-confidence?
16. Have you ever lied about what you were doing while twitting?
17. Have you ever hid your twitter homepage when someone is around?
18. Have you ever turned to third party applications to twit when your boss has closed for access to the twitter homepage?
19. Have you ever had a loss of sense of time because of twitting?
20. Has your tech staff ever had to treat your computer because of twitting?
21. Have you ever been to a hospital or institution on account of twitting?
22. Do you twit alone?
23. Are you in denial and lied or "stretched the truth substantially" when answering any of the questions above?
If you answered 3 or more of these questions with a Yes it is a definite sign that your twitting patterns are harmful and possibly considered twitter dependent or twittoholic. You may want to seek an evaluation by a social media professional.
I've been thinking about establishing Twittoholics Anonymous. But I decided not to, because then I would have to stop twitting. And I haven't got THAT far in the process.
Hjörtur
@hjortur
ps. The first step is to admit that you're a twittoholic. If you are, start your comment with "My name is ... I'm a twittoholic".
Like this post? Want to get addicted? Subscribe to my feed! Go on! Just one more feed. That won't hurt anybody ...
I would have to say that I am one!
Great post!
- Adam DesAutels
Posted by: Adam DesAutels | May 17, 2008 at 05:24 PM
Hello I'm Leah and I'm a twittoholic and proud of it!
Posted by: Leah McChesney | May 17, 2008 at 05:25 PM
My name is Connie. I'm a twittoholic. Actually, I'm just happy I didn't answer yes to ALL the questions. :-)
By the way, congratulations on the newborn son.
Posted by: Connie Reece | May 17, 2008 at 05:25 PM
Afraid I am
Posted by: Happy Hotelier | May 18, 2008 at 11:29 PM
nope not really. but I'd cry, I'm not sure what's would happen to the world if facebook shut down for a day!!! we'd have to actually do something worth while. I'm addicted to facebook.
Posted by: Ambrosiality | May 20, 2008 at 05:18 AM
I can handle my Twittering. Really. I don't have a problem. Ah, d'Nile. It's not just a river in Africa.
Posted by: Max Gladwell | May 24, 2008 at 03:54 PM
Funny!
Could I walk away from Twitter? Probably, but then I'd just find some other interaction opportunity to fill the time/space.
But then, I am using it much more than I expected I would. So, yes, I am baldeagle and I am a Twittoholic.
Posted by: baldeagle | June 04, 2008 at 12:13 PM
I think I need to check this twitter thing out. Sounds addicting.
Posted by: Super Mike | January 20, 2009 at 12:09 AM