I sometimes forget that language subtleties, like sarchasm and inflection, cannot be conveyed well through typing online. And other people forget, or maybe just don't realize that this is true. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten upset over something that someone has put into an email, or a message board, only to be told "I was just kidding", or "You didn't understand me". Recently the tables were turned on me and I got lambasted by someone for something I said. It escalated, got worse and we both got mad. I chose to end it and just not respond any more. There's another person that swears that we're getting "closer" just because she comments on my Facebook posts..... I haven't talked to her in person for months, and then nothing that I would call a deep conversation. These things keep me awake at night and I consider this one of my personality flaws. I just don't understand sometimes how things can get so out of hand and I go over and over it in my head instead of just letting it go.
I was visiting a friend recently and her teenage daughter spent all evening texting on her cell phone. I asked her who she was talking to and she said it was her best friend. I wondered why they just didn't call and TALK to each other, or better yet, see each other and talk in person. She said that's "just not what they do". It makes me wonder if technology is eroding our personal relationships. Do you HAVE to use the latest technology just because it's available to you? What do you do if there's a digital misunderstanding?
I suppose I should just chill over this, but it bothers me and I don't like it any more than any one else when my words are taken the wrong way.
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