Lubbock One of the Least Socially Networked Cities

Tweet this, Lubbock has been ranked as one of the least socially networked cities in America. Out of 100 cities listed, Lubbock comes in at #97. In other words, when it comes to Twitter and social networking, Lubbock isn't that connected.

But, is that really a bad thing? Maybe folks here in Lubbock and West Texas just have too much stuff to do compared with those in the number 1 city for Twitter and other social networks Washington, D.C.

Today's USA Today has a pretty good article up this morning that reports on the 100 best and worst "Twitter Towns". The complete survey will be released in the upcoming April issue of Men's Health magazine.

Washington, D.C. ranked number one for social networking which isn't too surprising given the number of politicians, lobbyists, reporters, and other politico's that enjoy tweeting and being connected to the public. On my personal twitter account, I follow many who tweet from inside the nation's capital.

Researchers didn't only check in on Twitter. They also looked at statistics from Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace (people apparently still use MySpace?) and Digg. The percentage of people that looked at blogs and chat rooms was also factored into the mix.

As I mentioned earlier, Lubbock came in a number 97 out of 100. However, that might not be a bad thing. According to Sherry Turkle, a psychologist, it may suggest that those cities with lower rankings might actually be happier with their off-line lives. In the article, Turkle says,

"When people are gratified and fulfilled in their face-to-face interactions, when these satisfy their desire for connection, for gossip, for feeling wanted and plugged in, they don't need to feel technologically plugged in"

So there you go Lubbock. Maybe we aren't all connected online because we still enjoy face to face interaction here. Makes sense to me. Visitors from other parts of the state and country always say the people in Lubbock are some of the nicest people they've ever met. Looks like we do well with other social skills and don't have to rely on Facebook and Twitter.

However, if you are online on Facebook or Twitter, be sure to connect with us at KFYO. You can find us on Facebook by searching for KFYO and you can follow us on Twitter @kfyo, @chadhastyradio, and @prattontexas.

What are your thoughts? Why isn't Lubbock more connected on social networking websites?