IT’s eerie to see quiet living room and dining areas in houses or restaurants as everyone is scrolling through social media posts about the lives of others.
Despite the sarcastic doodles or photographs that illustrate the death of real human communication, which are ironically also posted online, we are enarmoured with digital communication.
But that does not mean we can’t be humane when we communicate digitally.
As much as we don’t want to communicate badly in real life, the same goes when we converse on social media, specifically on WhatsApp.
I’m sure that most of us who own a smartphone would have the application installed in our device.
And with that, a plethora of groups comes trickling along, for family members, close friends, final-year projects, community programmes, sports team, business groups and acquaintances of common interests.
The point is, the way we communicate in these groups can sometimes be out of control. The fact that we don’t say things in groups like how we do it in real life might be one of the reasons why some people are a little too open.
Imagine this: we are in a big group of individuals with different backgrounds and work ranks.
Someone needs to ask or say something to an individual, which may be a sensitive issue.
Is it not more logical and courteous for that person to send a private message to the person who initiated the conversation, instead of “yelling” to make everyone in the group jump with ungracious remarks?
For goodness sake, something known with or without purpose can’t be made unknown.
This is especially true when that something is not something good. That can be a burden to those who are forced to know that matter.
The same goes to WhatsApp groups.
Regardless of how joyful it is to converse in a group, some things should be kept and done privately, hence the initial function — personal message, or PM.
If you need to ask something from an individual in the group, click on his name, and text them privately. If things can be settled in private peacefully, why do we need to do that in public?
Getting it solved is another issue, though, given the insights from others. However, if that question is controversial, then it should not be done after all.
I think that it is wise for us to stop and think before we click the “send” icon. That pause may save us from humiliating others.
Common sense includes knowing what to and what not to share in a group.
And that includes comments on things that could be and should be discussed personally.
Common sense is dying. Let’s not speed up its death with bad habits when texting in groups.
SITI MARIAM MOHAMMAD ILIYAS
Lecturer, Academy of Language Studies, UiTM Johor, Pasir Gudang campus, Johor