“The uncertainty theory helps
explain false conflicts, which occur when at least one person in an
interdependent relationship thinks that there is a conflict but after talking
to the other involved, finds there is no conflict. Due to technology, text
messaging is a new form of communication. I feel that this form of communication
lacks important indicators that come with face-to-face or verbal interactions,
thus making messages harder to interpret. With this being said, I feel that it
is easy to misunderstand or misinterpret how the other person is coming off as.
For example, I texted my girlfriend’s mom asking if I could use the cupcake mix
she bought to give to her mom’s friend Joe. It took her a while to respond, so
my girlfriend told me to go ahead and make them. After I had made them, her mom
informed me through text that the cupcakes were for Halloween only, and she was
suppose to make them. She also said that I needed to go buy more cake mix. I
automatically, got afraid that her mom was upset with me, and started to freak
out a little. However, when her mom came home she was happy I made them, because
now she didn’t have to. In conclusion, it can be hard to interpret someone’s
tone or voice through text and can cause a misunderstanding.
I enjoyed reading your post and agree that technological communication does leave a little bit of ambiguity in our ability to read the emotions behind the words. Often times people can text in a way that sounds negative or angry, but in fact those emotions are not relevant at all to the words being typed. People also can assert their own emotions into someone else's words and assume they feel the same way, thus creating a false conflict. That type of unknown is scary and can make people worry, but it's best to confront the person directly and ask calmly in order to clear any confusion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, CMC (computer mediated communication) in general is laden with traps for us to fall in to. We do our best with carefully chosen words and a sprinkling of emoticons to prevent confusion, but it’s just so hard to be clear without all the tools of nonverbal communication.
ReplyDeleteEven with verbal communication it’s all too easy to misinterpret someone’s intention or their tone. My wife and I are constantly having to back peddle and explain what we meant or that we weren’t upset. That’s more easily done in person when you might be able to catch that the other person has misinterpreted you through their nonverbal communication. In text based communication though, whether it’s instant messaging, email, or texting, we frequently have no idea that someone has falsely perceived a conflict.