Have you ever read a message and completely missed the underlying emotion of it?
Asked by
Dig_Dug (
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April 3rd, 2023
I received a message and thought it was a cheerful message but the messenger was actually pissed at me. I completely missed the intent and even after knowing that and rereading the message, still could not discern that it was that way.
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10 Answers
This has happened to me. A text does not carry nuance. It’s the least effective way to communicate, but it has become the one we use the most.
Don’t think so. Using the right words and punctuation should convey tone and emotion.
I don’t think so. Other than in another political QandA place I used to frequent before I found Fluther. People didn’t like my politics and I’d often get PMs like, Go kill yourself and other joyous things.
I’d usually respond with, Shove it up your lard ass and have bad day. Or, Go cross a busy street against the light. Lol
I haven’t but heard it’s rather easy to misconstrue a text message.
I very much dislike texting, not to say it doesn’t have it’s place but I still would rather talk to a person then text them.
Sure. The written word can cause all sorts of miscommunication.
In university 2000 my friend emailed me a letter said that I was “loved”... (Just not by her.)
I totally misunderstood.
It ended badly.
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
—George Bernard Shaw
I have certainly missed or misunderstood the underlying emotion of a message conveyed solely through text before. As noted above, it is an easy mistake to make—easy enough that the number of times it has happened is probably greater than the number of times I have realized that it happened (which may also explain the answers of those who think they have never misinterpreted a message conveyed solely through text). Thus the Shaw quote: the illusion that communication has taken place can hide from us the possibility that it has not, which makes it easy for us to assume that all has been communicated as intended.
Yes, it has happened to me both ways. I have completely missed what the other person was attempting to say and I’ve had people totally misunderstand what I had said. Sometimes we read the words but fail to think about what is behind those words. It’s easy to miss the pain behind those words because we aren’t the one feeling it.
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