# The Art of Being Petty on Social Media

- Link: https://chatterblast.com/blog/the-art-of-being-petty-on-social-media/
- Published: 2018-03-23T17:23:18-04:00
- Author: chatterblastteam

In honor of the word **_subtweet_** being added to the dictionary earlier [this month](https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary-march-2018),
I am here to celebrate with you the wonderfully awful world of social media pettiness.
I do it. You do it. Even our mothers try their hand.

We ALL do it. And if you haven’t been even the slightest bit “petty” on social media,
I doubt there’s never been a thought in your mind where you want to scream to the
Twitter world how loud your roommate… chews. Anyways, let’s get to it.

Social media has undeniably granted us the power to do many, many things. Billions
of things. TRILLIONS. And among those lies the petty and passive aggressive posts,
shares, likes and RT’s we see in every refreshed timeline.

## **Subtweets & Statuses**

Ah, the subtweet. The not-so-mysterious way to share your thoughts about someone
else. We covered [subtweets](http://chatterblast.wpengine.com/philosophy-of-the-subtweet/)
a while back, yet, not much has changed. The art of subtweeting has remained the
same, and much like art itself, subtweets can either be easily interpreted or make
little sense to those who have not crafted the tweet themselves. Let’s try and decode
some, eh?

https://twitter.com/polly/status/974718977552171008

Subject: Remains a mystery.

https://twitter.com/amyaknow/status/975780372305858561

Subject: The roommate who likes jazz.

> WITCH HUNT!
> — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [February 27, 2018](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/968468176639004672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Subject: Robert Mueller.

> Wait it's legit National Snake Day?!?!?They have holidays for everybody, I mean
> everything these days! 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍
> 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍
> — Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) [July 17, 2016](https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/754818471465287680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Subject: Taylor Swift.

For the most part, users subtweet hoping the subject of the tweet notices the tweet.
And clearly, not all these tweets are as passive aggressive as you think.

In addition to subtweeting, pettiness comes in retweets and quote tweets, too. Example:
look back to the first tweet we decoded. It goes, “_someone wronged me recently 
and ive decided to hold a grudge against them for the rest of time…_” I only saw
this tweet in my timeline since it was retweeted by my gal pal who, I know, recently
got in a scuffle with a friend over paying for some bills.

## **Petty Pics**

Instagram and Snapchat are no stranger to the pettiness. It’s easy to express-the-
pett in statuses and tweets, yes, but photos and videos can do so too. Usually, 
pettiness through these more visual platforms aim to make a certain someone jealous.

Crush just broke your heart? _BOOM—sexy selfie on the gram. _Friends didn’t invite
you out?_ BOOM—you’re getting dinner with someone else anyways, #DogFilter. _There’s
actual guides available online to help people perfect this sort of petty revenge,
see [here](http://people.com/celebrity/the-petty-girls-guide-to-post-breakup-revenge-instagram/),
[here](https://www.theroot.com/after-the-breakup-how-to-win-the-petty-olympics-on-soc-1821609704)
and [here](https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Life-Seem-Awesome-on-Facebook). Yikes.

Now, decoding Instagram and Snapchat pettiness is whole ‘nother kettle of fish. 
It’s either point blank obvious or goes right over your head. When it’s obvious,
you can pick up on some clues in the caption, or, if we’re talking Snapchat, read
that black screen full of text (which, let’s be honest, could just be a tweet).

Other times, petty photos only really satisfy who ever posted it. There’s no way
to tell if _that certain someone_ cares about your selfie or feels the FOMO burn
after seeing your story. They might, they might not. But either way, you feel much
better seeing their username among the list of those who have viewed your story.

## **Trending: Pettiness**

More times than not, a petty post is celebrated rather than torn down. Just look
around: celebrity vs. celebrity, politician vs. politician,  [Outback vs. Texas Roadhouse](https://twitter.com/Outback/status/976163849945649153).
Since when did it become so important for restaurant chains and chocolate marshmallow
snacks to reveal to us their inner sass?

>  [pic.twitter.com/3CE66Vrgs8](https://t.co/3CE66Vrgs8)
> — Outback Steakhouse (@Outback) [March 20, 2018](https://twitter.com/Outback/status/976163849945649153?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

Since users, like us, praised, liked, retweeted and identified with it all. We influence
the influencers. But is there a price? Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being #TeamPetty.
It helps us feel better, it motivates us and it gives us more power in a situation
we can’t control. Still, at some point all this pettiness can have negative consequences.
If pettiness is derived from great unhappiness or hurts others, maybe it’s time 
to step away from social media and work on yourself. _Is that me being petty?_