Does Twitter expose your homunculus?

We know all too well our inner voice (sometimes referred to as our “homunculus”). It’s that never ending conversation we have with ourselves. Inherently unfiltered, it’s fraught with countless snap judgments that get overridden by our moral compass and therefore never see the light of day.

Or do they?

Twitter’s double-edged sword is that on one hand, it represents the real-time heartbeat of its population. It’s about being in the moment. And for researchers, cultural anthropologists, and all around “data geeks” (like me!), this instant feedback is a goldmine full of interesting insights.

On the other hand, the accessibility and ease of which one can post to Twitter (and Facebook for that matter), is all too tempting for some users to essentially publish their gut reactions – their stream of consciousness – all without a filter.  It’s what leads to the many social media meltdowns that the media seems to love to cover.

And for those who don’t think before they post, they are exposing their homunculus – sharing their inner voice and (often extremely offensive) raw emotions with the general population. Twitter is open, public, and what we publish lasts forever.  

Do we really want everyone to get to know our homunculus? There's a reason we all have an inner voice that was by design and default on mute to the outer world.

Comments

[Hashim Warren]

The original idea for Twitter was for it to be the pulse of the planet.

And that's exactly what it is! How often does a product reach even a portion of the vision its founder has for it?

I'm glad our “homunculus” is exposed on Twitter. It's the one place you can have a frank, public discussion.