A few years ago I heard an interesting description of social behaviour on a radio program interviewing a sociologist.
They compared human social interaction to the way an actor can be on stage or back stage, and would behave very differently in the two situations, even though we wouldn't consider it dishonesty. Likewise, it's completely normal that a food service worker interacting with customers would behave very differently to how they do in the staff break room or outside of work.
In the back stage context, for example, you can try on new ideas and then discard them after discussion, secure in the knowledge it'll soon be forgotten. Or you can speak plainly about topics where opinions differ, knowing how the people you're talking to will feel. Or you can be a bit boring, a bit derivative, a bit cringe. And of course, how public the discussion is doesn't just impact you - it also impacts who'll reply, and with what.
I can well believe people have found there's much more authenticity in group chats than there is on the major social media platforms.
The trust of a small, private group goes a long way, but I also wonder whether we've internalized the idea that things you say on the internet can last a long time. Even if the UI claims to be ephemeral, someone in your close group can screenshot what you posted and distribute it anonymously.
They compared human social interaction to the way an actor can be on stage or back stage, and would behave very differently in the two situations, even though we wouldn't consider it dishonesty. Likewise, it's completely normal that a food service worker interacting with customers would behave very differently to how they do in the staff break room or outside of work.
In the back stage context, for example, you can try on new ideas and then discard them after discussion, secure in the knowledge it'll soon be forgotten. Or you can speak plainly about topics where opinions differ, knowing how the people you're talking to will feel. Or you can be a bit boring, a bit derivative, a bit cringe. And of course, how public the discussion is doesn't just impact you - it also impacts who'll reply, and with what.
I can well believe people have found there's much more authenticity in group chats than there is on the major social media platforms.