If you use Twitter regularly, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen something about Justin Bieber in your Twitter stream. Even if you’re not friends with any of the masses of teen girls who worship the young pop star, his name is mentioned more than just about anyone.
What does it say about Twitter? About social media? About society?
For Twitter and social media in general, it means that there is still a “growing up” process that is currently in process. Those who were watching the Bieber phenomenon in the early days (a mere 2 years ago) are likely aware that it was fueled by its own consumption. Justin Bieber did very well on social media and Twitter in particular and his fans started getting excited when he was “trending” on Twitter. As a result, they tweeted him even more and encouraged their friends to join in. It launched (spiraled?) the phenomenon until he was getting tweeted at and about because so many people were tweeting at or about him.
As far as society is concerned, it simply means that while social media is in touch with and somewhat influences the real world, it’s still an entity outside of accepted reality. That Justin Bieber has more followers and receives more attention than Vladimir Putin, Lebron James, or Christopher Nolan does not mean that he is anywhere near their level of influence.
When it comes to questions, his willingness to respond to many of them have made him a “target” of sorts, with people asking him more questions than they ask any other celebrity in entertainment or sports. As the infographic below by our friends at inboxQ clearly shows, the Twittersphere really loves using the service to try to “talk” to their idols.
Click to enlarge.
Oh yes. A good post with current affair.