Do you think before you type…?

 

A lot is said about social media about how everything typed down and ‘published’ on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and how it lasts forever. Forever imprinted onto the internet and forever able to be found again, only a click away. Nothing can be forgotten or swept under the carpet, once it’s written, it stays written. The permanence of the internet. Does this make you think about everything you do on the internet? Every blog post that you may write, every Facebook post, every tweet?

I do to a certain extent, for example, while debate is good it can be difficult through the written word. Emotions and inflections of the voice, body language and facial expressions are difficult to convey through the written word. A hearty debate verbally can be seen as cruel and offensive if it’s written down. Sarcasm, for example, is not always easy to translate.

I mean you don’t always want to tow the line and you want to stand out from the crowd, either by saying something witty or at times controversial, but there is a fine line where controversial can be just plain nasty.

Furthermore, as a writer, I’m always worried – more concerned – that what I write or type doesn’t in fact make sense, or even worse there’s a spelling or grammar issue. Cringe! So I always check through what I’ve written to make sure it’s all correct, because while tweeting for example isn’t writing per say it does in my opinion reflect on the writer.

So do you think before you click ‘send’?

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: blogs, facebook, internet, permanence on the internet, social media, the written word, twitter