Sunday, October 17, 2010

Beware of the Send button

Within seconds of clicking the Send button I regretted it.

Even though I had mulled over what I would respond to a friend's email for over a week, even though I had had a sleepless night about it the night before, even though I went over and over my words carefully, I was sorry after I sent my response. Hopefully I'll have a chance to make amends with time, but I can never erase those words that are forever out there in cyberspace.

This age of immediate communication is so different from the time when I wrote letters. Then, I'd actually write out the words by hand, reading and rereading as I wrote. Then I'd address the envelope, put a stamp on it, and take it to a nearby mailbox. All of this took time. All of this gave me time to think about what I was writing and whether it was appropriate to send.

I also think the same goes for what I write on Facebook. In fact, I need to be even more careful there because so many more people have access to what I post. This blog post will be there almost instantaneously.

So, take it from me. Think hard before clicking that Send button. Don't end up sorry like me.

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