Twitterthumb treatments spike at St. John’s

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

By PJH Staff

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Though it fancies itself one of the most-outdoorsy communities in the nation, Jackson Hole suffers from a serious Twitter addiction.

The Jackson Hole Board of Pubic Health said Monday that at least 87 confirmed cases of “twitter thumb” were treated at St. John’s Hospital in the month of April. The complication happens when people spend more than two hours a day “tweeting” on their iPhones. Some residents, who tweet during each of their waking hours, could eventually lose the use of their thumbs, Dr. Doug Decker said.

Twitter is a social network where celebrities and normal people alike give “updates” on what they are doing, sometimes painting a play-by-play picture of their often-boring lives. Subscribers to those tweeters’ Twitter “feeds” receive the updates, and can track what their friends, or favorite celebrities, are up to on any given day.
Zack Holmes, who subscribes to Shaquille O’Neil’s, Justin Timberlake’s and Seth Green’s Twitter feeds said that Twitter is a way for him to “escape the solitude of Jackson, and feel like I’m a part of the world.”

Holmes reads several hundred updates a day on his iPhone, often while working as a bouncer at the Wagon Wheel Bar in downtown Jackson. Holmes’ bandaged thumb is all he has to show for his Twitter Addiction, but he said that Twitter’s benefits are apparent in his soul.

“These guys are my friends now,” Holmes said. “I can comment on their updates, and cheer them up when they are down, or share in their high spirits when things are going well for them. I feel more complete, now.”

But Holmes’ pastor, Reverend Mike Meadows from the Third Baptist Church, disagrees. He has started a “tweetment group” for his parishioners like Holmes.
“These poor people are praying to God less, and praying to these celebrities more,” Rev. Meadows said. “The Lord tells us not to have any idols before him, and we must nip the violation of that commandment in the bud if we are going to address this issue and help these people regain their spiritual equilibrium.”

Holmes has begun a “Twitter Rehabilitation Fund” to help combat what he says is “more dangerous than the Swine Flu,” and “rots souls more than it rots thumbs.” PJH
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Twitterthumb treatments spike at St. John’s | Planet JH News Article: Flipside

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