In this day and age, it is commonplace for us to
link to and have conversations with friends and acquaintances through texting
and social media on a daily basis. Of course, with our rigorous work schedules
and fluxing lives, it can be difficult for people to meet with their friends
for face-to-face conversations over coffee and breakfast every day. Social
media conversations interspersed throughout the day can often be our only means
of conversation with our friends.
But, what potential grudges can stem from these
digital conversations?
For me, there have been some scenarios in which I
was having casual, harmless conversations over Facebook with some of my
friends, but this friendly banter somehow escalated into one step short of a
blood-feud seemingly out of nowhere.
In one such instance, I was having a Facebook
conversation with a friend of mine who had recently broken up with her
boyfriend and wanted to talk to me about it. It started off innocent, with both
of us talking casually about our personal lives (since we hadn’t seen each
other in a couple months). But, once the conversation led into the breakup
itself, things started to downwardly spiral.
Over the course of this conversation, I tried to
console her by subtly inferring that she should try to put the breakup, and her
ex, behind her and move on. I tried to put this in as light a way as I could so
as not to upset her or sound insensitive about her situation. However, the
words that I typed to her somehow struck a chord somewhere within her. She
proceeded by launching into a furious retaliation against me, claiming that I
have no idea what I’m talking about and that “moving on” is “easier said than
done.”
I was dumbfounded by how easily such a conversation
between friends and an attempt to sooth said friend had somehow diverged into
her throwing every swear word in the book at me. It made me realize that
sometimes, although we are trying to convey something through digital
conversation, it can come off as something completely different to the person
who receives it.
With face-to-face conversations, it is easier to
give true meaning to your words because they can see your facial expressions
and so forth. However, through digital means, these words can be potentially
destructive depending on how the receiver interprets them.
So, if you engage in
social media conversations with people you know, try to put words as delicately
as you can. They can express empathy and convey good messages to your peers,
but they can also cause as much harm as physical confrontation.
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