Really? You Think That?

There are many flaws that are arising with increased participation in the digital world. Here are some of these problems:

• Miscommunication
• Misunderstanding Sarcasm
• An Increase in Contention

Miscommunication

The more we write the more we will be misunderstood.  It's bound to happen.  This is a gigantic problem.  We've seen it on Google+ and also on Facebook.

Sarcasm

Another problem is that no matter how many times you try, you cannot type sarcasm.

I know I've tried.

Sarcasm in blogging, texting, commenting, tweeting, etc. is practically impossible to convey. The only way it can sort of work is if the person knows you really, really well. And even then it usually doesn't work.

This can lead to all sorts of problems.

The reason this occurs is because the digital interface has no tone. People can't tell whether you are just kidding or ignorant or a jerk or stupid.

This is an article about a computer algorithm that can supposedly detect sarcasm, Sarcasm. It claims to score accurately approximately 75% of the time. I find it hard to believe because it says people are checking to make sure the computer is correct but how do you know the people checking are correct.

I have a strict no online sarcasm policy. I also try to avoid interacting with people who are possibly using sarcasm especially if I don't know them very well.

And if I feel like I must be sarcastic with someone, I call them. Which even then can be misinterpreted but at least there's tone.

Even Benjamin Franklin was sometimes misunderstood in his writings due to his sarcasm (cite).  If our founding fathers, who we see as practically perfect, had this problem imagine how bad it is for us.  We have so many more opportunities to be misunderstood because we have many more opportunities to communicate through typing mediums.

Beware of sarcasm.

Contention

Another big problem that comes with increased participation is an increase in contention.  The more people communicate the more people are going to disagree.  I'm getting to the point where I almost don't want to comment on people's Google+ posts because I don't want a bunch of notifications if an argument starts up later.

An example of this happened with part of my wife's extended family.  Someone posted something on Facebook that somebody else didn't like.  So they commented and it started enormous feud.  This then led to a cousin (that I really like) posting a status saying "Facebook is a really cool tool to connect with friends and family and keep updated on their lives." This was said with some sarcasm, my point exactly.  This lead to 92 comments, almost in the span of three hours in the middle of the night.  Most of the comments were a cousin (15 years old, not the one who posted the status) and an aunt (old, not the mother of either of the cousins) fighting.  It ended in the aunt unfriending all the family except her kids, including my wife who didn't find out about it until over a month later at a funeral.


Ridiculous.


So what is participation good for?  I think if we can control our emotions, realize that other people can't necessarily do the same, and we are willing to let things go then maybe participation can be good.