Tact...

One of the things I like least about social media is the distance it places between you and your contact.  Things like inflection, tone, and body language are all a part of communication and they are lost when typing a message into a cold computer. You lose the chance to be caring, loving, concerned, or snarky. Unless, of course, you use those fun little emoticons...blech.  I got an email the other day from a family member that was, let's just say, rude. Don't know that that was how it was meant, but that is how it came across.  No greeting, no how are you, just smack-me-in-the-face with the disappointment and bad news, then ending with "have a happy holiday". Really? Is that what communication has boiled down to? Is that how we want our loved ones to find out about the things that are going on in our lives? The truly sad part is that that is exactly how she communicates in person.  It's awful.
Occasionally we say things that can seem thoughtless, or hurtful, and most of the time we try to atone for them once they pass our lips, but, now, it seems it has become the norm for sarcasm and digs to live in relative ease among our conversation.  "Just sayin'" has become the socially acceptable term used to alleviate guilt about something cruel that was said.  I know I am guilty of taking potshots at friends and I assume that most of those that I do it to understand that it is with humor that I do so, but such is not always the case.  I do hope that those of you who are ever hurt by what I say, call me on it.  It's not okay to hurt someone's feelings...EVER...and remember that with out the 90% of communication that is non-verbal, things can get out of hand really quickly.