Listening to two teenage girls talking about a harsh and hurtful text message one of them sent, and how sorry she was for sending it … got me thinking. today we have the ability to write down any nasty, horrible thing we want to, hit send and the entire universe will be able to read it within seconds. In my teen years, fortunately for us, there was no Internet, no Twitter and especially no texting. Our deepest innermost feelings would never be made public. That’s what diaries were for.
Girls (and boys … oh, heck — everyone) please think long and hard before hitting “send.” The written word can never be taken back. I wish text messaging would vanish as quickly as it arrived. Nothing good comes from someone’s angry thoughts being made public. Picking up the phone to call someone and speak your concerns, interest or thoughts is becoming a lost art. No one wants to “talk” any more; our voices are being silenced by technology. Remember “the pen (fingers or a stylus) is mightier than the sword.” Don’t lose your God given gift of speech. Start talking and stop pushing buttons to convey your thoughts.
Communication is 80 percent nonverbal; it’s so easy to be hurt by someone’s words. Misunderstandings (or “Twitter beefs” as they are now being called) are epidemic. Reader and writer beware; putting down your angry thoughts the moment you are feeling them is not the best way to communicate. Take a breath, counts to 10, do something but do not respond “while in the moment” — it will never end well.
Keep a diary, write letters then burn them or throw them out. That way, no one gets their feelings hurt and you get to vent without looking like an idiot. Trust this old gal; trying to take back what is written down is next to impossible.
Susan Martin
Everett
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
