Scientists say we’re likely to have our first brush with embarrassment between the ages of 15 months and two years old. Or at least to be able to identify the feeling of being embarrassed. And unfortunately, it’s downhill after that. Whether we’re left red-faced from a clumsy fall in front of strangers, or forgetting a close friend’s birthday, there are bound to be a whole bunch of awkward and cringeworthy moments throughout our lives.
Mobile phones haven’t made it easier. One U.K. survey of 2,000 adults found that younger generations are most likely to encounter misunderstandings, or to make mistakes on text messages or emails. More than half of those polled recently had previously sent a message to the wrong person. Among the most embarrassing things they said they’ve done were sending a kiss to their manager, arranging lunch with the wrong friend, or sending a “cheeky” message to an in-law instead of a partner.
55% of respondents said they needed to follow up their text or email blunder with further communication to clarify what they’d meant. The main culprits when it came to miscommunication over text were a misinterpretation of intent, a lack of tone or emotion, a lack of context or background info, ambiguous language or jargon, and the overuse of abbreviations.
Those surveyed also shared some super cringe examples of how voice-to-text messaging had left them wanting to crawl into a hole and hide. “I was trying to ask (my) manager what ice cream flavor to get for the coffee morning and it autocorrected and asked her what flavor orgasm. It was awkward and embarrassing,” revealed one participant. While another added, “I said 'you look great today' and it said ‘you gained weight today.'"
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“We all love the speed and convenience of digital communication methods,” said Wendy Swash, COO of Moneypenny. “However, our survey shows the increased margin of error from texting rather than talking, and highlights the fact that we lose an important emotional understanding that comes with speaking to someone, and we can’t detect the same subtle nuances that come from a conversation.” Swash added that they’d urge people to pick up the phone when it comes to anything urgent, sensitive or complex.
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One therapist revealed how he avoids ending up in awkward situations because of his phone. Dr. Ari Sytner says he’s implemented something he calls “the slow send”. “Whenever I am sending a text, Tweet or email, I press my finger on the send button, but I do not let it go for a few seconds," wrote Sytner.
"Often enough, during that brief moment of reviewing my message, I will notice an error in what I have said, or to whom I am saying it. Without lifting my finger, I can then slide it over to the side, which resets the send button and prevents the message from being sent, allowing me to correct it before it gets away from me.”
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While technology has made it easier to stuff up nowadays, it’s also made it easier to prevent embarrassing blunders. Nowadays, there are some apps you can use to avoid sending the wrong message. They delay everything you send. So that you can buy some time and hopefully realize the error in your ways.
