UPDATED 06:36 EDT / MARCH 06 2013

Twitter is not “We the People”

Yeah, the title might be confusing, but there’s a point to be made.

These days, when you want to know what’s trending or what people are talking about, the go-to source is Twitter.  Why?  Because no one stops talking on Twitter.  You could search for any hashtag on Twitter and you won’t be disappointed, because sure enough you’ll find someone talking about it.

But what does this mean?  Do opinions on Twitter reflect opinions in real life?  Are the sentiments on Twitter the real sentiments of the people?

Most people would like to believe that Twitter is the new voice of the people, but according to Pew Research Center’s study, reactions on Twitter often differ from public opinion, based on limited population polls.

In a year-long study, Pew gathered the pulse from Twitter and public opinion regarding top 2012 events such as the California law banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, the presidential campaign, Barack Obama’s re-election, Obama’s inaugural address, and the State of the Union address.

On the topics of California’s same-sex marriage ruling, Obama’s re-election, and who did better in the first presidential debate, the sentiments on Twitter were more on the positive side.  There were 46 percent who tweeted positive remarks on the same-sex marriage ruling, 59 percent stated that Obama did better during the first presidential debate, and 77 percent were happy that he got re-elected.  But in reality, or based on the public’s opinion, only 33 percent were happy with the California ruling, only 20 percent stated that Obama won the first debate, and only 52 percent were happy Obama got re-elected.

Of the eight events Pew tracked, only two events posed almost parallel reactions on Twitter and from public opinion.  The Twittersphere and the public in general weren’t happy when Mitt Romney tapped Paul Ryan as his VP, and when the Supreme Court handed down its ruling regarding the health care law back in June, half were pleased, half weren’t, both on Twitter and the general public.

Negative feedback

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The most notable finding is that more negativities arise on Twitter particularly when political issues are on the plate.  During last year’s presidential campaign, there were more negative tweets about Obama and Romney, spiking during the election period, though Romney had a crosshair on his forehead and everyone seemed to have targeted him.

It’s not unusual for people to focus on the negative side of politicians or any political topic.  It’s like gossip.  People love to bash others just because they can, and it’s fueled by the fact that tweeters have an audience who may either share the same opinion or get a rush in debating with others.  People just love getting attention and the best way to do that is to talk smack about religion, sexuality, human and animal rights, and of course, politics.  You get my drift.

Twitter-totter

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The question now is, should we really pay attention to what people are saying on Twitter and/or surveys?  First off, we have to understand that Twitter and “the general public” doesn’t actually represent “the people.”  Those demographics are just a minute representative of the whole, and do not represent the whole.  And this is the main reason why reactions on Twitter differ from reactions on polls or surveys because the sample population is not the same.

In Pew’s 2012 biennial news consumption survey, it showed that only 13 percent of US adults use Twitter to read news or share news, while only 3 percent regularly use Twitter to read and share news.

We also have to consider the fact that more teens use Twitter and they are more vocal about the topics they see on the service.  These teens often share the same opinion as their friends or a celebrity they are following that’s why there are so many tweets that doesn’t make sense.  Some people just love joining in conversations that they know nothing about and they get angry when someone opposes the opinion of a celebrity or political figure they idolize.

photo credit: roberthuffstutter via photopin cc

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