I do use emoticons a lot in my line of work, but then I find myself having trouble when I have to type a business letter for my husband and emoticons wouldn't be acceptable. Sometimes I think those little buggers can become a crutch and then I struggle when I have to deal with only words.

There are times when I will use an emoticon to help convey the tone of what I'm saying. Precise wording goes a long way, but sometimes an emoticon puts the cherry on top.

I do the same thing! It is important to convey the right message in an email.

Wanderer wrote: Joining the Club ... sure have to be careful in writing Text and even E-Mail Messages. Often people see the response in more than one way. Much simpler using the telephone (oops I said a dirty word and I might actually talk to someone).

God forbid, right, Frank?!?

I work for a company that communicates largely through an internal site and emails and we definitely have to be very careful about what we say and how we say it. I often type emails two or three times before I send them because I want to be careful my words are being received in the way that I mean them.

Although, I am an introvert social media has not changed the way I relate to people. I still avoid them on and off social media. The internet as a whole has made me less inclined to leave my house at all though, for instance online banking has changed my world.

Curry wrote: I created an account to find a childhood friend a few months ago and it worked like a charm. That's the only reason I use it and I don't have any issues.

I'm glad to hear that. It's ironic that I have many childhood friends on Facebook, but none of us are really that active there anymore, so we lost communication just like that. I felt that we perhaps depend on the technology too much.

I created an account to find a childhood friend a few months ago and it worked like a charm. That's the only reason I use it and I don't have any issues.

We decided long ago not to have a Facebook account. Too many of our friends and relatives seem to enjoying discussing things that should probably not be made public, including the photos. I do have a Twitter account but rarely use it.

Breakinger wrote:

Medi wrote: People hide behind their accounts and forget that written words are actually more dangerous because they can be interpreted differently from its original meaning. Add that with some short thinking and temper, now it's a war zone. I find myself reverting to text messages and calls these days.

I agree with you completely, Medi. There have been many times that I've read something wrong and have gotten upset over the situation. You have to be careful with text messages too, though because I can't tell you the number of times my sister has gotten mad at me because she doesn't understand the way that I explained something in a text.

Good point. At least in such private conversations, you don't have to worry about the trolls who twist your words and context like we sometimes see in social networks. That's all the more reason why people avoid those places lately.

Joining the Club ... sure have to be careful in writing Text and even E-Mail Messages. Often people see the response in more than one way. Much simpler using the telephone (oops I said a dirty word and I might actually talk to someone).

Medi wrote: People hide behind their accounts and forget that written words are actually more dangerous because they can be interpreted differently from its original meaning. Add that with some short thinking and temper, now it's a war zone. I find myself reverting to text messages and calls these days.

I agree with you completely, Medi. There have been many times that I've read something wrong and have gotten upset over the situation. You have to be careful with text messages too, though because I can't tell you the number of times my sister has gotten mad at me because she doesn't understand the way that I explained something in a text.

People hide behind their accounts and forget that written words are actually more dangerous because they can be interpreted differently from its original meaning. Add that with some short thinking and temper, now it's a war zone. I find myself reverting to text messages and calls these days.

Social media is only a reflection of the people who use it. Facebook itself is not a bad thing to have. What people often choose to post is what makes it seem bad.

I use Facebook and Instragram, but don't post too much. I agree that anyone who puts very personal and political things on there just makes it difficult for me to really respect someone. I just don't get why Facebook is the avenue for these discussions.

I'm only on Facebook as well, and that is just to be able to chat with a close friend that recently moved away. I can't stand the way some of these people air everything out on social media platforms and then get upset about it afterwards. I'm not like that. I don't want all of these people to know my business.