I can understand that. I don't use twitter either, though I have thought about it. It's an interesting platform though, as it allows people to feel like they can express things they might not feel able to in real life. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best way to get a bead on the public heartbeat, but it is useful to be able to see things that people might be too polite to say in regard to certain things.
Interestingly I was just reading another post on my feed, the one about anonymity online, and it led to a small discussion about the idiots who threatened that British MP on Twitter. I'm sure they wouldn't have said that to her face. In that sense Twitter is a bit like having too much to drink.It's an interesting platform though, as it allows people to feel like they can express things they might not feel able to in real life.