Twitter is all fun and games until someone gets called out by name. With the recent rise in “TTU” tagged parody accounts, the ugly truth has come out.
While @TXTechCrushes, @TTUBusDriver and others have taken off with the help of humor, Tech is also plagued by accounts like @TTUSlamPiece and @TTUMakeouts.
@TTUMakeouts has gained popularity for featuring pictures of Texas Tech students partaking in drunk and disorderly behavior and even posts nude photos. @TTUSlamPiece focuses more on calling out women in our college community for being “sluts”, even going so far as to tag the featured woman in their tweet.
When did it become OK to call out your peer’s sexual promiscuity or send in photos of your so-called friends making a fool of themselves? People do not realize the damage they are doing to their images by submitting to these handles. It is basic self-protection, and human nature, to avoid incrimination, and by letting these Twitter feeds wreak havoc on campus, we are also destroying our campus image.
While the creators of these accounts hide behind a handle and an e-mail address, their peers face the repercussions. Friends have turned against friends, and enemies have turned Twitter into a public brawl with hashtags like “#ShitHoesSay” and “#ThingsSlutsSay”.
All of the backstabbing, profanity, and fights are reminiscent of Mean Girls and things our parents told us would end with our graduation from high school. So when does one make the choice to grow up and act like a respectful member of society? Leave the name-calling in the past and do not be afraid to stand up for yourself if you have been victimized by Regina George… I mean @TTUMakeouts, @TTUSlampiece, and the like.
It is just as easy for students to talk amongst themselves as it is to post each other’s personal business all over Twitter. So instead of trying to fit in with the trend, people should make a choice to stand out and step away from damaging, and very real, “parody” accounts.
Have an opinion and want to weigh in? Contact the author by e-mail at randileigh.thomas@ttu.edu or shoot her a tweet (@randiella).
About Randileigh Thomas
