If you have a friend who uses terms such as tweet, hashtags, DMs and retweet, chances are, your friend is using Twitter.

Twitter, the social networking and microblogging service, has begun to slowly catch on among MTHS students. It allows users to send and read posts of up to 140 characters. Some use Twitter as a personal journal or to communicate with other people but sometimes it is pointless babble.

“I started using Twitter back in ‘09 because it was the new thing, and I was able to post things that I knew a lot of people wouldn’t see,” junior Marissa Gilbraith said.

Twitter, launched in 2006 and based in San Francisco, allows users to follow other people’s tweets in real-time and provides an alternative to rival social networking giant Facebook.

“I use Twitter on a regular basis. I’m kind of obsessed,” junior Taylor Johnson said of her Twitter use since 2009. She uses it to follow celebrities such as Justin Bieber and meet other people around the world who share similar interests.

While Twitter has a smaller user base than Facebook, it allows its users to post their thoughts and ideas with ease.

Senior Jalen Pahinui is a newcomer to Twitter but now uses it everyday to let people know what’s on his mind.

“It actually is helpful. I get to see what people are up to and some people’s tweets get me to laugh, which is nice,” he said.

Gilbraith would disagree though. She said, “Twitter is not very useful to me, it just lets me waste time and stalk people’s lives without it being creepy.”

The Hawkeye uses Twitter to send updates of major athletic events, allowing those unable to make it to the game to follow along on their computer or mobile device.

Twitter’s surge in popularity at Terrace will likely continue as long as the service grows and emerges.