True, but I think Twitter is a bit different in some aspect. It’s still about recognition, but it’s more akin to oneupmanship with yo momma jokes (and similar things) where people attempt to impress via quips and such and getting the attagirls and attaboys vis this idea signaling.

It isn’t so bad when it’s a group of five or ten being smart or crass and obnoxious within that limited group. The amplification via Twitter makes that unbearable. I agree the metrics do ultimately drive this behavior too.