The word "whatever" has countless meanings. When someone gets that single word in a text message, there's no telling which way it should be taken.
"I hate it when people say ‘whatever.' It can easily be taken the wrong way," sophomore speech pathology major Laura Albers said.
Miscommunication via text messaging and social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter is a growing problem, victim advocate Michele Cole said.
"As a victim advocate, from what I've seen and experienced, technology can be a wonderful resource to connect," Cole said. "But on the flip side, it can be a communication gap. If you're texting back and forth via e-mail and Facebook, [the other person] may not know how to take what you're saying."
Victim advocates work in the Office of Victim Services and provide 24-hour support to students who have been abused.
There's a decrease in human connection when communicating through technology, and it could have negative effects on relationships, Cole said. There has to be a balance between verbal and nonverbal communication for good relationships.
"[In the Counseling Center], we strive for better communication with partners and programming on healthy relationships. We focus on interaction," she said. "The nonverbals are such a large component of our everyday communication that if you're trying to just text back and forth, there's that communication gap."
Albers said she thinks the current generation's attitude toward communicating through technology isn't headed in the right direction.
"There's a disconnect, and it's just going to get worse," she said. "You can be in a room with your friends, and there's no point being there because they just text other people."
Freshman speech pathology major Jordan Oppelt said she's noticed people doing the same thing.
"When that happens I just think, ‘What? You don't want to hang out with me? I'm not good enough?'" she said.
Cole said not only could the human disconnect lead to misunderstandings, but it could lead to issues of harassment. A growing number of people feel a false sense of security when they send messages.
"They're hidden behind that cloak of anonymity online," Cole said. "It goes back to, ‘I would text it but wouldn't say it to your face.' You get that false sense of courage."
Some people simply don't think before they send texts or update their Facebook statuses, Cole said. It's an opening they should be aware of, though.
"If you post something on Facebook and you have 1,000 friends, it can be extremely damaging to another person's self-esteem," she said. "Social media is a good way to connect and disperse information, but it can be very harmful to a person if they're a target."
Cole said she's had several clients who have been the target of social media harassment and in some aspects, harassment has increased because of technology. The effects are still the same.
"When something is hurtful, you're going to go through emotions like anger that are unique to your situation," she said. "It could be magnified by technology. Technology really opens the situation to a vast array of people quickly. People should be aware it's out there forever."
If you feel you have been the subject of abuse, through online communication or otherwise, call the Office of Victim Services at 765-285-7844.
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