For those who don't know me personally... I. Love. Twitter. I don't know whether it's the simplicity of the user interface or the fact that my mom doesn't know how to use it. I have been using Twitter regularly since 2013 and I've come to notice that there are different sectors of the popular social media site.
Ranging from crazy stalker fans to social justice warriors, there are many different communities on Twitter. So, I have decided to enlighten those who aren't on Twitter or who just use Twitter casually by making a short list of four types of Twitter accounts you may see.
Disclaimer: this article was written all in good fun. I, in no way, would want to ridicule or harass those who may fall into any of these categories. Be sure to take this article with a grain of salt and don't take it so seriously.
1. Social justice warriors.
GiphyA social justice warrior is a person who constantly attacks or addresses anything he or she finds inappropriate, offensive, or triggering in their eyes. They go out of their way to give their opinion (ESPECIALLY when no one asked). They are quick to 'cancel' any celebrity who has made one (1) racist comment in 2003 even though they have since apologized for it and has never said a comment as such ever since. They don't understand the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. They also don't know how to take a joke and probably will never know how either. They are the ones who suck the fun out of Twitter.
2. Stans.
Stans are probably my least favorite part of Twitter. A stan (a portmanteau of the words "stalker" and "fan") is just as you would assume a stalker fan. A stan's demographic usually runs from 14-18 years old. They are so obsessed with any given celebrity or band to the nth degree. They will mercilessly attack someone who claims to not like any certain celebrity, band, or group. A sub-category of the stan world would be BTS stans. BTS stans are crazed fans of the popular K-Pop group BTS. They out-number any fandom and they keep multiplying by the day. A BTS stan is like a regular stan on steroid and with anger management problems. Stan twitter is so big that they have their own dictionary of terms. Some include; Wig, Bald, Tea, Canceled, Bop, Flop, Pop off, and Rat.
3. Locals.
GiphyLocals (formally called 'Basic') are those who only like things in the mainstream and trending (i.e. Drake, Rihanna, The Office). They are the ones who tweet "When Drake said _____ I felt that". They are also the ones who bring the likes of @Dory and @CommonWhiteGirl onto your timeline. They also shamelessly retweet those "RT if you love God" or "RT for good luck" tweets. They're the people who are so obsessed with their past that they demand to put old Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows on Netflix around 3 times a month (it's never gonna happen, Amy). Locals will bring back any old viral tweet from months ago and make it viral again. If you've seen a tweet that goes like: "500k RT's and Gigi Hadid will go to prom with me, Twitter do your thing!" you have a local to thank for that. Personally, I think locals are the biggest sector of Twitter, given that most of them are, in fact, white, and that's the tea.
4. Black Twitter.
GiphyI've been quite negative in this article so far, so here's one of my favorite sectors of Twitter. Black Twitter gives @Dory and the Locals their content. That meme you're laughing about now was being laughed about in Black Twitter months ago. They pave the way for Twitter humor and activism.
I believe that while Local Twitter is the largest group, Black Twitter is right after them in terms of numbers. A good amount of viral tweets come from those in Black Twitter. However, they are they fall victim to the locals stealing their tweets hoping that they would go viral. In my eyes, Black Twitter is both underappreciated and underrated.
There you have it, these are the four of many nations on Twitter. Some honorary mentions include:
- Gay Twitter (a derivative of stan Twitter)
- Old Republicans who ridicule Liberals and reply to Tr*mp's tweets using Minion memes
- Straight white guys (aka YeeHaw Twitter)
- Bare Minimum Twitter
Hopefully, this article helped those who aren't 'into' Twitter understand just what they may expect to see if they do end up joining. Lastly, if this article made you laugh, you might like to see what I personally tweet. So, if you feel so inclined to, you can follow my personal twitter: @crunkcolin.