A large number of people do not understand the tones of language or expression. Many simply do not grab sarcasm, how much more satire. Particularly on the social media space, many are not very intuitive or gifted with reading in between the lines. These accounts for most frictions and quarrels on the social media. Why is this?
It is because many do not read to comprehend; most read rashly to reply. Any student of English Language would know that there are sub-branches of Composition and Comprehension. English teachers can be of help here.
Composition is a simpler form of an essay. An essay is simply a test of your skill in writing about an event or a topic in a creative way that draws your reader into what you are trying to express. Which is where comprehension comes in. Comprehension is grasping or understanding what the writer means, either expressly or impliedly, through his writing.
Therein lies the problem on the social media and its effective positive usage. The power of comprehension; the ability to understand satire, humour and sarcasm.
Sometimes, when I read people and I cannot really understand the tilt of their thoughts, I will refrain from commenting. This is because, sometimes, you need a second or third reading to fully grasp the intention or mind of the writer.
However many read on face value and may start to pick quarrels which, in turn, would turn into a social media war between virtual friends. This also narrows down to how conversations are handled on the social media.
An example of the subject of our discourse are screenshots of conversations between Mary, a job seeker and her prospective employer. Expectedly, these conversations have drawn reactions and opinions from readers.
Many have said the employer baited Mary to test her level of human relations and should have come directly to let her know who she was chatting with. Mary may have had a bad day and may have just snapped out, they believed. Therefore, the employee had to be upfront about who he was.
I have always believed that conversations on the social media space should be handled with careful courtesy. Every stroke, every punctuation, even tone matters because we cannot readily read expressions.
A mistake at pressing an exclamation (!) could send the receiver of that message into panic, anger or resentment. Auto-correct should be closely monitored so that you don’t type pig for big, mad for made or horse for house.
Fact is, nowadays, employers want to see how you are in your turf. Are you polite? Reserved? Engaging? Smart? The rules of engagement are changing and people want to check your attitude before you are employed or recommended.
Be that as it may, some are of the opinion that after introduction in a chat, the next thing is for the employer to shoot straight so the applicant knows who he or she is dealing with.
Could there be a slight omission between the greeting and introduction by the prospective employer? Was Mary rude and rash in her reply? What are the lessons therein in the conversation?
Leave a Reply