Twitter Paving the Way for More Concise Written Language

Since its emergence, Twitter has forever changed the way we write.

Posts, AKA Tweets, are little bits of information that users share with their followers. Tweets are limited to a 280 character limit, meaning messages must be short and to the point.

But what does the evolution of the first instance of writing tell us about the way Twitter changes the way we write?

Before we address the question, let’s talk about the one of the earliest forms of writing. Researh indicates that early civilizations used clay envelopes (bulla) filled with tokens. These tokens represented different objects, and on the outside of the envelope were engravings denoting what was inside. This envelope system worked, but as time went by, it was easier to just engrave. Denise Schmandt-Besserat explains this significant writing changes:

At first the innovation flourished because of its convenience; anyone could “read” what tokens a bulla contained and how many without destroying the envelope and its seal impressions. What then happened was virtually inevitable, and the substitution of two-dimensional portrayals of the tokens for the tokens themselves would seem to have been the crucial link between the archaic recording system and writing. (read more here)

Over time, we have found ways to simplify writing. With Twitter, the limited space has led to the use of acronyms, abbreviations and emojis to convey the user’s message. The meaning has not changed, just the way it was written has.

Just like early civilizations simplified their writing system, Twitter users continue to simplify their writing. If writing can be condensed, it will be.

Will we ever reach a point where writing can’t be further simplified? I don’t know, but that is a question for another time.

A consideration of tokens and tweets: Pliability and spreadability

Hardly a news cycle goes by these days without us hearing “words matter.”

(Meanwhile, those of us who have dedicated our lives to reading and writing would like to have a word with the rest of you. Ahem.)

That aside, it is interesting to consider the ways words can literally shape realities. To illustrate: The president’s retweets of debunked conspiracy theories enabled the circulation of words that, this past week, were weaponized. 

What I’d like to add to the above declaration that “words matter,” is that the very matter with which words are made also matter.

For example, one of the reasons conspiracy theories spread so easily is because of the material conditions that enabled such writing in the first place: digital writing on microblogging sites like Twitter and other online communities like 4chan, Reddit, and (the now-defunct) Parler. These digital modalities enable spread.

Network analysis of the spread of a conspiracy theory online

Network analysis of the spread of conspiracy theories: https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/how-conspiracy-theories-emerge-and-fall-apart

Some might think the “spreadability” of digital writing is something we have never had to contend with before. But Denise Schmandt-Besserat discovered that writing’s very origins were rooted in how pliable (literally) the writing material was. She states,

It is not surprising that clay was the material chosen the world over to manufacture counters because, thanks to its remarkable quality of plasticity, it can easily be modeled, with the bare hand, in an infinite number of discreet shapes that are easy to recognize, identify, remember, and replicate. [read more here]

It seems, therefore, that we might want not just to revise the “words matter” statement to include “matter matters.” We might also add that words don’t just shape realities; words’ pliability and spreadability is what can make certain realities believable and, well, liveable.