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Juliet Cohen
Roberta Wolfson
Writing 2
6 June 2016
To Tweet or to Not to Tweet, That is the Question
The genre in which a topic is expressed immensely impacts how it is received by the
public, meaning a similar idea can be perceived as either laughably immature or intellectually
stimulating depending on its source. In the case of written works, there are countless genres
targeting different audiences that uniquely analyze the same topic of the decomposition of the
institution of marriage in todays society. By analyzing the conventions and differing target
audiences of informal Tweets and comparing them to a well-written column analyzing the
institution marriage, one can recognize how Tweets serve as a source of direct comic relief while
news articles encourage the reader to think deeply and question the many layers of such an ageold topic. This reveals that the younger generation does not take the institution of marriage as
seriously as most older folks. Firstly, Kelsey Borresens 15 Tweets That Will Make Perfect
Sense to Married People compilation of Tweets showcases that social media websites like
Twitter provide an outlet for people to write brief, humorous pieces meant to receive attention
and quickly be forgotten. On the other hand, Anthony DAmbrosios column 5 Reasons we
cant handle marriage anymore is a formal website column that contributes intellectual analysis
meant to enlighten the public through reasonable justification and emotional appeal. The
approach one takes when expressing his or her opinion is very different depending on ones
generation and has the power to cause the reader to either burst into laughter or feel empowered
and educated.

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Contemporary societys youth is very fond of expressing ideas and humorous opinions in
short, menial bursts in the form of Twitter social media, looking to get a quick laugh from their
followers. However, serious topics embody the focus as Tweets as well, some even poking fun at
a traditional institution like matrimony like those Tweets in Borresens 15 Tweets That Will
Make Perfect Sense to Married People. The relaxed Twitter format is obvious by the fact that
the entirety of the work must fall within one hundred and forty characters or less. This limited
format often results in typos, a lack of intellectual basis or justification, and an abundance of
mindless humor. There are simply not enough characters to provide substantial support for any
mind-blowing statements like extensive newspaper columns are capable of. However, this is
acceptable in this genre as the purposes are solely to bring comedy to other members of the
younger generation and often provide a means of venting for the writer. Format is circumstantial
to the genre, and Tweets have coined their very one unique format of one hundred and forty
characters
On the topic of marriage, many Tweeters find humor in poking fun at such a traditional
concept and the older generation in general. The genre predominantly utilizes a dry sense of
humor as Borresen claims marriage is just texting each other Do we need anything from the
grocery store? a bunch of times (qtd. Carillo) until someone in the relationship is deceased.
This brief Tweet offers no examples as proof or elaboration as analysis, simply stating the
authors opinion instead. If Tweets had more formal conventions, such as evidence or
explanations for opinions and acknowledgement of a possible counterargument, the genre might
be more credible. Looking at this Tweet on a broader scale, this is a humorous yet immature
generalization that is likely to offend older individuals, suggesting the younger generation does
not take the idea of matrimony as seriously as those who have already committed to it. The

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younger generation truly makes up the majority of the audience that embraces this style.
Borresen also argues that marriage can be a sort of battle for affection from the household pets,
doing so in a casual manner and therefore further proving that the genre should not be taken too
seriously. This Tweet claims that couples maintain a silent competition to see who the dog loves
more, (qtd. JudgeYouHarshly) referring to long-term couples who focus more on pleasing the
dog than each other. This Tweet reinforces the general trends of youthful Tweeters using dry,
teasing humor and purely stating opinion with no supporting evidence. The same joking format
is observed even when faced with diversity of viewpoint among Tweets as not all posts about
marriage reiterate the same viewpoint. Borresen strays from the standard pessimism by implying
it is quite endearing when a couple [realizes] neither of [them] remembers whose toothbrush is
whose (qtd. Strode). The Tweeter does not see this as an assault to ones oral hygiene, but rather
a symbol of ones commitment to one another and expresses this in a casual writing format. No
matter the tone of the Tweet, the same casual format can be seen in Twitter social media.
Switching gears to more traditional conventions like those in Anthony DAmbrosios 5
Reasons we cant handle marriage anymore, persuasive online columns strive to formally
convince the educated members of the general public of a certain viewpoint with detailed, welldeveloped arguments. In his column claiming that marriage is weakening with each new
generation, the sentence structure includes grammatically correct descriptions and lengthy
sentences that transform the simple concept of matrimony into an emotional experience.
DAmbrosios description of a connection beyond a physical level and the tendency of
couples to remove human emotion from relationships appeals to an audience that is willing to
consider mature concepts in lengthy passages and look deeply into both physical habits of
couples as well as romantic ones. This blatantly contrasts with readers who are simply looking

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for mindless, humorous literature in short bursts, such as social media posts. The column also
recognizes that people selfishly receive gratification from people who like and comment on
their statuses or pictures because social media has given everyone an opportunity to be
famous. This claim criticizes the egos of societys youth and requires quite a bit of analysis and
explanation. This is typical of persuasive columns that carry on for pages in order to convince the
reader of an opinion. Needless to say, persuasive columns and their thoughtful claims exceed one
hundred and forty characters for good reason.
Taking a look at specific aspects of the genres, Twitters vocabulary and tone in itself is so
childish it is put to shame by formal columnist authors. Twitter often does not even use words
found in the dictionary and the tone of Tweets should almost always be assumed to be sarcastic
and sassy. Borresens expressions of confusion present themselves via the onomatopoeia hunh
(qtd. Brady) followed by the personal not where I thought that was going, (qtd. Brady) giving
the reader a relatable sound to connect with emotions and a personal look into their thought
process. Any writing piece with formal conventions would surely avoid expressing emotions
with almost indistinguishable words not found in the dictionary. This trend of casual writing on
such a broad scale is unique to this generation since old English is much more proper and filled
with descriptive language rather than imitations of sounds. Many Tweets also include hashtags to
help categorize the Tweet with others on the same topic, Borresens in particular often flashing
#MarriedPeopleIssues (qtd. Brady) and #marriedlife (qtd. JudgeYouHarshly) to inform the
reader of the general topic of the work. This would not be necessary if Tweets had more content
and followed a formal organization with titles or paragraphs. Lazily categorizing with hashtags
in the place of traditional literary techniques is a step in the direction of tossing away the English
dictionary entirely. This simple sentence structure makes it obvious that the target audience is the

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younger generation laughing at the expense of the older generation with imaginary vocabulary
and hashtag categorization. Societys youth are more likely to seek mindless humor on Twitter
than any other faction while older, more intellectual individuals would probably seek a wellorganized literary piece void of hashtags and slang that do not contribute to the content
whatsoever. In total, it is apparent that social media uses these blatant conventions to describe
marriage in a way that is completely individual and unique.
Additionally, the writing style of formal columns includes an impressive vocabulary in an
attempt to be persuasive and professional. Through DAmbrosios meaningful, even insulting
language such as gratification, neglect, and naive, an idea is instilled in the readers mind
that the scenario being described is flawed or at least worth questioning. Nowhere in persuasive
articles could one spot a single hashtag or barely discernable onomatopoeia. DAmbrosios
careful insinuation is simply not found in weak pieces of writing, therefore he sets his writing
style apart from informal genres. This language also supports the idea that DAmbrosio takes his
topic and audience seriously. If authors of columns were nonchalant about marriage, they would
not take the time and thought to use such precise, impressive language. Since the literary work
speaks so maturely, it demands the audience to give the genre credibility and adopt the presented
point of view.
Not only is the columnist genre credible, but it also keeps the audience interested with
powerful, emotional phrases since the author knows how to appeal to educated, imaginative
readers. The writing convention of beautiful imagery paints pictures with words in 5 Reasons
we cant handle marriage anymore as it describes certain scenarios. The author suggests
holding hands instead of phones (DAmbrosio) on a first date and even gets romantic by
suggesting that touching someone, kissing someone, feeling someone (DAmbrosio) is a

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beautiful, desired experience. This plays with the readers emotions, keeping him or her
interested and making for a more persuasive writing piece. Since the target readers are
experienced, educated, and passionate, one could even say the writing is targeted to make them
feel nostalgia and remember when they felt this way with a past lover. The passionate imagery in
well-written columns is also utilized to criticize society in a philosophical fashion in order to
instigate change. DAmbrosio acknowledges that although social media and technology help
lovers be more connected than ever before, they are also completely disconnected at the same
time in the most important way. This might sound confusing at first glance, but it is actually
making a bold statement about the distinction between a couple being able to have constant
menial conversation over text versus meaningful communication in person. Instead of just
bluntly stating this contrast for the reader like a Tweet would, the author makes the reader ponder
his words to truly understand and arrive at the conclusion themselves. Since this level of
passionate writing clearly stems from the authors experience and prioritization of intimacy, the
author has been around the block and therefore is most likely a member of the older generation.
Professional columns are both written and read by mature and passionate members of society, as
exemplified by the beautiful, philosophical, and bold writing style.
Lastly, columns writing style engages the reader by asking rhetorical questions and
demanding a shift towards healthy couple interaction. DAmbrosio describes unattractive habits
of modern married couples, such as using phones in bed instead of chatting, and demands
elimination of such immature habits. He believes that since marriage is a serious commitment, it
deserves the respect of both partners. Those that value technology over their loved ones
immediately need to re-evaluate their priorities. This is a thought-provoking demand that can
only truly be made by a lengthy literary work such as a column. When faced with opposition to

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changing unhealthy marital trends, DAmbrosio puts pressure on the reader to answer why the
hell not? and demands that the reader stop being quick to point the finger and take
responsibility. This responsibility makes the reader reconsider his or her personal justification for
these anti-social traditions and become open to the new ideas the author is suggesting. Persuasive
columns tend to target audiences made up of patient, open-minded, and educated individuals who
are willing to consider the authors viewpoint. These conventions of descriptive and advanced
sentence structure, mature language, deep imagery through appeals to emotion, and integration
of personal experience appeal to those who want to be mentally stimulated. Overall, this writing
convention succeeds in making the reader ponder concepts and possibly consider an alternate
viewpoint on a topic he or she was originally biased on with the comfort that such ideas have
evidence supporting them or at least substantial social prominence.
All in all, the genre and conventions utilized truly impact a writing piece and say a lot
about generational gaps. Detailed online columns exemplify mature and traditional writing
techniques to create a thoughtful piece of literature while Twitters only goal is to humor the
public in one or two sentences. Formal columns address all open-minded members of the public
while Twitter only appeals to a small audience predominantly made up of youth with short
attention spans. Articles scholarly vocabularies and organized lists of justifications for opinions
encourage the readers to take the authors argument seriously. The difference between Twitters
youthful humor at the expense of marriage versus the more mature, formal columns approach
demonstrates that the younger generation simply does not take the institution of marriage
seriously. Therefore, they target only those that they respectively appeal to, being other younger
generation peers or fellow mature adults, respectively. Different genres utilize very different
conventions even when dealing with the same topic, and comparing proper columns to Tweets

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could not exemplify this any clearer.

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Works Cited
Borresen, Kelsey. "15 Tweets That Will Make Perfect Sense to Married People." Huffington Post.
n.p., 08 Jan. 2016. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
Brady, Sacha (@zigged). I can't wait to take a hot shower, get in bed with you, and work on my
latch hook." Hunh. Not where I thought that was going. . 31 December 2015, 2:41 PM.
Tweet.
Carillo, Daniel (@DanielRCarillo). Marriage is just texting each other "Do we need anything
from the grocery store?" a bunch of times until one of you dies. 15 July 2015, 10:24
AM. Tweet.
DAmbrosio, Anthony. "5 Reasons We Can't Handle Marriage Anymore." Asbury Park Press.
n.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
Judge You Harshly (@JudgeYouHarshly). You maintain a silent competition to see who the dog
loves more. . 30 July 2015, 12:37 PM. Tweet.
Strode, Cole (@colestrode). That moment when you realize neither of you remember whose
toothbrush is whose . 12 April 2015, 1:38 PM. Tweet.