Can you say whatever you want just because you're online?

The reason I ask is because of the recent events between two persons on Twitter. Those who know me, know what I am referring to. I’m not going to bring up this particular incident, but it made me think.

How will the words you put out there in cyberspace be interpreted? Are you not to blame if someone takes offense? Do you pause to think about who the person is that will read your words?

I do think that you should think about how your words will be interpreted. Of course, the internet isn’t any different from real life. And of course you’re partly responsible if someone takes offense. You don’t have to take the whole blame, but it was your words. And remember there’s a real person behind the computer screen.

But naturally, there’s the other side of the story. When you read something that makes you upset, do you ever think twice before replying? Did he/she really mean what they said? Could you have misunderstood? Or did he/she speak without thinking? Did you perhaps miss in what context it was said?

I know that many times I’ve been sad and felt left out, when people have been inconsiderate. I have felt sad when people are making fun of things I believe in but aren’t targeting me personally.

I’ve been guilty of a few of these things. Said things I came to regret. And the opposite, thought that people were mean to me, when they never meant to be. Of course there have also been cases when I truly wanted to make someone suffer and when people really set out to hurt me, but that’s another story.

What I try to do is to avoid the internet when I’m feeling down. In the past I tried to get online when I was depressed. Tried to find things to distract me from how I felt. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Now I avoid the risk of misunderstanding things and the risk of hurting someone else.

Empathy and respect are the keywords here. You need both to get along with other people. That goes for the internet as much as for real life.

Tags: #frys, @frysdaughter, Twitter