Posted by Marie Poppins on January 29, 2023 in Society
Local chat or discussion benefits in 2023: If the only people you ever talk to are your relatives and close friends, you can forget about building a business network. Many successful people actually confess that the biggest breaks and opportunities in their professional lives came as a result of talking to strangers. Therefore, in your professional life, you should make it a habit to talk to strangers on a daily basis. As these people turn from strangers into acquaintances and probably friends, you never know which one of them will provide you with an opportunity that will help advance your career. Talking to strangers can also be great fun and make up for a spontaneous, exciting day. Actually, for some people, the joy of traveling comes from meeting strangers and having experiences they had not planned for. I can recall several instances in my life where talking to a stranger ended up making for a spontaneous and fun filled experience. See a few more details on chatblinks.
But even as social media connects teens to friends’ feelings and experiences, the sharing that occurs on these platforms can have negative consequences. Sharing can veer into oversharing. Teens can learn about events and activities to which they weren’t invited, and the highly curated lives of teens’ social media connections can lead them to make negative comparisons with their own lives: 88% of teen social media users believe people share too much information about themselves on social media.
According to research, more than 90% of human communication consists of body language. When you see the way that the person you are talking to reacts, you are able to better understand how they are feeling. One of the benefits of chat communication is the live feedback translated through the body language and facial expressions. Other forms of communication can never provide the advantage. You can also hear the tone of voice which makes it easier to interpret the person’s feelings. On the other hand, you are able to show your own reactions and emotions. For example, as a manager, with chat communication you can show your employees that you care, pushing them to perform better.
How does online interaction impact an individual’s well-being? Intuitively, one might expect that any form of interaction, regardless of setting, is probably an aid to well-being. In offline settings, researchers have demonstrated that those who communicate more and have close supportive relationships are less stressed, happier and psychologically healthier (e.g., Baumeister and Leary, 1995, House et al., 1988) whereas those who have fewer close relationships, social resources and support tend to feel more lonely, be more depressed and psychologically less well (Barnett and Gotlib, 1988, Bruce and Hoff, 1994). See more details at talkwithstranger.com.
On the other hand are those who fear that the internet causes a multitude of social and psychological problems. Several psychologists have claimed to treat people with “internet addiction.” For example, in 1999, David Greenfield adapted a diagnostic tool from a gambling addiction questionnaire, substituting “internet” for gambling. This approach ignores the positive benefits of being involved with the internet: Compare a statement such as “I am gambling too much” with one such as “I am communicating on the internet too much.”
In COVID era chatting with people can help your mood a lot. Be understanding and empathetic. Let people know you’re listening and you care. While you may not be able to change things, you can express knowledge of their challenges as well as compassion for their struggles. Acknowledge these, allowing for people’s discomfort. You don’t have to spend a large portion of your messaging here, but at least let people know you understand. This will go a long way toward the trustworthiness of your message. Be human. Especially in times of stress or unease, people want to know messages are from people, not robots. While you may not focus here—after all, your challenges will be different than those of others and the focus shouldn’t be on you—it’s okay to acknowledge you too have questions and are working through things. In terms of the content of your message, it’s also okay to say you’re processing some issues and don’t yet have the answers. Perhaps there is a key policy or benefit that is changing. You can let people know it will be changing without giving details yet—this kind of transparency will also breed trust.