A lot of stress can be created when people assume without checking that they know what others are thinking. We have to constantly remember that other people might have different motivations for their actions, and even worldviews which differ drastically from our own. Remembering to try to understand these motivations before jumping to conclusions about behaviour can go a long way toward preventing interpersonal conflict and inner conflict leading to unhappiness.
The new digital idiom in which many of us work makes this even more important. Poe’s Law tells us that any parody of an extreme point of view online is likely to be understood by some as in fact representing that extreme outlook. Our digital selves have low attention spans, and sarcasm and the Internet do not mix well. Don’t assume that people will see the funny side – keep it simple if you want to make online jokes.
We need to do more to watch our own behaviour, and social media platforms must also play their part. A minimum first step would be for social media platforms to be able to verify that a user has read an article before they are able to share it. Research has shown that 59% of articles retweeted on Twitter had not been read first. If people are not reading the material which they share, they should be forced to safeguard the interests of those who are. These steps would be akin to speed limits and the advice to motorists to take a break. No-one wants a driver who has been on the roads for hours and is too tired to see the danger up ahead. No-one wants a social media user who, through sheer over-use of the platform, has become blind to the results of what they are sharing.