A Social Media Wake-up Call
The pitfalls of social networking are well
documented.
But so far have not seen the kind of pit
elucidated that faces me now.
Not so very long ago was urged to get up
to speed and join Twitter. Nothing could be
easier, they said. You’ll at least be in
the 21st century, they said.
They did not warn of the possibility of
adding a new layer of apprehension to
every day angst.
Quickly decided to follow someone listed
as Dude In A Bear Suit. The profile pic
showed a person standing full length in a
droopy, flea-bitten bear mascot suit.
The presentation screamed funny, and many of
the tweets were hilarious, especially since this
big brown-bear-suit wearing person declared
godless koala bears as a mortal enemy.
Then on July 16, in rapid succession, the following
four tweets flew by:
My parents are outside and they’ve got a couple of
cops with them. And not park rangers this time. Real
cops.
Okay, they’re inside and it is NOT GOOD. Anybody know
what “involuntary commitment” means?
Delusional? Bear obsession? I prefer to think of
myself as a “bear enthusiast” or perhaps a “bear
aficionado”
I can’t believe my own parents would do this to me.
Who am I hurting with my bear-centric lifestyle? All
I ever wan
Yep, disappeared right in the middle of a word.
And nothing tweeted since then, although inquiring
minds have asked about the dude’s well-being.
So now the wondering begins.
Was this a gigantic hoax from the beginning, an
elaborate set-up for a world class joke on his
tens of thousands of followers?
Of have I been applauding and appreciating and
encouraging and favorite-ing a poor demented
soul whose need for help was so patent some one
of us thousands of followers should have acted
in some way?
Taken in light of current world news, Dude In A
Bear Suit is so far down a list of any sane
person’s issues that it’s laughable.
And yet, I cannot help but worry.
WTF is that?
Tags: Schizophrenia of the ursine type,
were-bears might be real, looking for
therapy on Twitter, looking for a
platform for crazy on Twitter,
insufficient warnings and cautions
for use of this app
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