Chapter 6.1.1

Contents

A small look at Japanese society! If you don't tweet, you're not a friend?
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A small look at Japanese society! If you don't tweet, you're not a friend?

As an international student from Taiwan, I have spent my time in Japan experiencing the country's unique culture. One of the things that surprised me the most was the Japanese people's love for Twitter (now X) and the social and cultural differences it reflects.

Japan's "co-consolidation"

After living in Japan for a period of time, I realized that most Japanese people are very concerned about fitting in, they like to follow what others do, and they are afraid of being ostracized because they are different. This is related to the strong "cohesion (social group pressure)" in their living environment, which can be seen from the following two examples:

Uniforms on the TramEvery day when I take the tram, I see a sea of office workers. They wear similar suits and carry briefcases, as if they were carved from the same mold. In winter, it must be a dark-colored coat, and if you dress too brightly, you will be looked at differently by the passers-by, so hide as much as you can, just don't be different from others.
Pursuing a consistent fashion: Japanese fashion magazines are so influential that many people buy the outfits recommended in the magazines and try to look exactly like the models, from the hats to the shoes. They believe that this prevents them from being different and minimizes the chance of being judged by others, so it's hard to see individuality on the road. When I was waiting for the tram at the station, I saw people wearing the same outfit as the one written in the fashion magazine several times, and they didn't seem to mind clashing and even took pride in being the same as others.

So what does this group consciousness have to do with the popularity of Twitter?

The Rise of Twitter: A Haven in the Minds of Japanese People

Twitter (English: ツイッター, Japanese: ツイッター, now taken over by Musk and renamed X) has an extremely high popularity rate in Japan. According to statistics, Japan has the second highest number of Twitter users in the world, second only to the United States in 2017. Besides LINE, Twitter (X) is the most commonly used social software, followed by Facebook. Unlike other countries, why are there more Twitter users than Facebook users in Japan? Here are a few reasons why this is the case.

Anonymity and privacy
- Twitter allows users to use anonymous or pseudonyms, and avatars do not need to be photos of real people. This is very attractive to Japanese people who value privacy and are reluctant to show their faces. They can express their thoughts freely on Twitter without worrying about being identified by real people. On the other hand, Facebook emphasizes real identity, which sometimes brings social pressure and makes people feel uncomfortable.
- Due to the protection of anonymity, many people tweet their "true feelings", sharing their joys and sorrows, or even their dissatisfaction or complaints about certain things without having to cater to the crowd or the majority. In Japanese society, which emphasizes harmony and is reluctant to express negative emotions directly, Twitter is a small world where people can be themselves.
Mobile Device Optimization
- With the rise of the cell phone, Japanese people have begun to prefer using their cell phones to access the Internet, and Twitter's interface is simple enough to operate on a cell phone. This allows them to post and share their lives anytime, anywhere.
- Twitter initially limited each tweet to 140 characters, which forced users to convey their thoughts precisely within the limited number of characters. Japanese, on the other hand, is suitable for Japanese people because one kanji character represents one word and is informative, so it can convey more content in the same number of characters.
Real-time information flow
- Twitter's retweeting mechanism allows information to spread far and wide in a short period of time. Whether it's a news flash, a disaster report, or a hot topic, it can spread quickly on Twitter. This allows Japanese people to get the latest information in a timely manner.
Affinity with Otaku Culture
- There are many interest-oriented communities on Twitter, such as anime, music, and games. Japanese people can find like-minded friends and join in their topic discussions, which increases their sense of belonging.
The first SNS with a Japanese version
- On April 23, 2008, a Japanese version of Twitter (now X) was released. This is the first instance of Twitter developing its service in a language other than English.
- On May 19, 2008, the Japanese version of Facebook (Facebook) was launched.

Turns out that switching tweets is a very shy thing to do?

After understanding why Twitter is widely used in Japan, we can realize that people are more open to be themselves on Twitter, but I didn't think about how private Twitter is to them.

Initial exchange

One day I started to create my own Twitter account, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of what Japanese people think and talk about in their day-to-day lives. While I was researching how to set it up, Mr. Murata came by.

"Japanese people don't seem to post on Facebook very often, they tweet all the time, right?" I asked him.

"Yes, Twitter is still better." Mr. Murata responded with a smile.

"I'd like to start a Twitter account to know more about how you guys are feeling... can I follow you?" I said excitedly.

"It's not impossible, it's just a little shameful ...... " he said with a sudden hard look on his face and a frown of thought.

"Yeah, well, that's okay." I was surprised and a little disappointed.

"What are you talking about?" At that moment, Nakata-san suddenly appeared.

"No, I was just wondering if I should ask him to tweet me." Mr. Murata said, a little embarrassed.

"Ah, what a shameful feeling," Nakata-san laughed. Nakata-san laughed.

"Okay, I'll let you add me, after all, you're a close friend." Mr. Murata thought about it and patted me on the shoulder.

"Really? Thank you! Can I have my sister's too?" I thanked happily.

"What should I do? Let me think about it....... Okay, Zero-kun can do it." Nakata smiled.

While I was immersed in joy, my instructor, Mr. Honda, approached me.

"Oops, you guys are reading Twitter?" He leaned over curiously.

"Can you add me?" I asked him. I took the opportunity to ask him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. His face changed dramatically, he waved his hands and left in a hurry.

"Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh!" Leaving the shocked me sitting on the chair.

The reason why I am so shocked is because this Honda student has most of my social media programs, Wechat, LINE, Facebook, but he doesn't give me Twitter. Am I not a close friend in his eyes?

It turns out that Twitter is the other side of everyone

However, after carefully observing the tweets of other seniors and other Japanese people, I realized why people are not too willing to exchange their tweets.

Only add friendsThe Japanese have a more strict definition of friend, observing their friends list, most of them are from childhood to play to the big partners have mutual pursuit, many are less than a hundred people, unlike Taiwan's Facebook, may be a list of friends to move on the broken thousand, so before they are recognized as a close friend, usually will not be given to the tweets. (Of course, it's a matter of opinion, just saying the general direction.)
Revealing Hobbies: Because some people will follow some anime or idols or special hobbies, etc., as soon as they are tracked, those trackers can learn about the interests and hobbies of the tracked person from the tracker's ongoing tracking list, which is kind of like telling everyone that their hobbies are these, so they don't want to be seen in front of people they don't know well.
Show your true selfUnder the pressure of social groups, many Japanese people create another version of themselves, and then tweet about their true selves. See the following examples to understand why I often wonder which is their true self.
- People who normally don't talk have a heartfelt tweet every three seconds on Twitter.
- People who are usually smiling and seemingly sunny on the surface are tweeting crazy complaints or leaving offensive comments.
- A girl who normally wears glasses and looks like she's just studying, but on Twitter she shows off her various outfits.

Through Twitter, I have seen a more realistic and comprehensive side of them. They are no longer the formal, superficially kind students in the classroom, but people with flesh and blood and emotions. The distance between me and them seems to have been narrowed.

However, after knowing so much, I wanted to know what Mr. Honda really thought of me, so I continued to wait for the time to come.

Drinking to Strengthen Courage

At a drinking party, I remembered that alcohol makes Japanese people more courageous and more open-minded, so I seized the opportunity to bond with my fellow students. As time went on, and while we were all drinking, I once again had the courage to ask Mr. Honda for a tweet.

"Senpai, exchange tweets," I begged.

"Seriously, Twitter's too shy." Honda-senpai said.

"After reading other SNS, I feel that you seldom post in your spare time," I said. I said.

"Actually, I mostly just tweet! Because it's easy and quick," he says. He said.

"Let me see!" Curiosity drove me to abandon my dignity and keep begging.

"You have to be sure! I'm posting almost all the time, it's very disturbing!" he cautioned.

"I'm totally cool! Add me!" I showed him my account.

"I can't do anything about you. Okay, I'll add you! If you get too many notifications, turn it off!" He showed me his username.

"No problem!" I was happy to follow my senior.

Later I found out that he really posts a lot, ten or twenty articles a day is normal, but fortunately they are not bad things about me, and occasionally even said that I am excellent, so I am relieved, at least it does not make people feel that they are a burden of the research laboratory is good.

After that, I went to Fuji-Q Highland, and I had many good memories of playing roller coasters with my fellow students, and they were willing to open their hearts to me and exchange Twitter accounts with me.

In this way, I managed to collect the Twitter accounts of everyone in the research lab, and some of them even asked "裏アカ(Chinese: 小帳)" to add me, so that I could see the darker world.

Trivia

Japanese people are accustomed to hiding their emotions in public, but inside they crave understanding and attention. Twitter fulfills this need. The functionality of Twitter is in line with the Japanese cultural background. This may explain why Twitter has been so successful in Japan.

As a foreigner, delving into Japan's Twitter culture has given me a deeper understanding of the country's social psychology. It's not just about understanding a social media platform, it's about experiencing a culture.

If you have the chance to live in Japan, try using Twitter (now X), it helps to integrate better and build genuine friendships. Understand their cultural background, respect their privacy, and get involved in their Twitter circles at the right time, and you may be able to see the most authentic side of Japanese people.