One of the emotional affordances of digital communication is that one can always hide behind deliberated nonchalance.

Sherry Turkle
About This Quote

The emotional expression of digital communication is different from that of face-to-face communication. In a face-to-face interaction, the speaker puts a lot of emotion into the words. Especially if there is a strong emotional bond between the two people. However, in a digital communication, the speaker can always hide behind deliberated nonchalance.

In this way, they can speak without feeling any pressure to show their feelings. They can make their message sound as gentle as possible. If they want to, they can even say something nasty without any guilt.

Source: Alone Together: Why We Expect More From Technology And Less From Each Other

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