The Text.

"You must not know 'bout me

You must not know 'bout me

I could have another you in a minute

Matter fact he'll be here in a minute, baby."

We all have lived with the uncertain feeling of what happens when you hit the send button on your computer, smartphone, or iPad? How will the message be interpreted, did I say it the way I meant, should I have used that emoji or a different one? This is nothing new…but what happens when you mistakenly send it to the wrong person, who is in love with the sender, and it's not meant for them? 

Your day is about ready to change.

I will admit I have sent emails that were misinterpreted, had tone or attitude, and worse yet misspelled words. (That's what spellcheck is all about after all!!) But fortunately, at least of what I recall, I have not sent a damaging one to the wrong person. Whew.

Recently, and I have clearance to write about this topic, an associate had this happen. Although we work on different floors, she is the first person you see when you walk through the door. She is younger, friendly, smart, and confident enough to know you don't pull crap on her—I suspect she lives by the theory, "Don't get mad, Get even." (I could not agree more with this line of thinking.)

Last week, being the friendly guy I can be, I asked her, "How was your weekend?" Idle chit chat with what is usually met with, "Oh it was fine, not long enough, etc." the basic drill. But not this time, she said, "I am single." I said, "Okay" and really didn't know what more to say as I didn't know she was married or had a boyfriend. She said she had received a text from her now ex which was intended for someone else. Ouch. She knew right away that "Honesty" had lifted the window and flown right out of it. 

Being the inquisitive person, and since she brought it up, I asked, "How did you know?" That was a "Duh" moment as for some reason, "women know." I felt very sorry I had asked about her weekend and said, "Well hopefully you both can find level ground if it's meant to be." She assured me, his next move is "all uphill." That would be an assumed, "it's not going to happen."

This reminded me of the dangers of social media, communication by electronic devices, and anything that leaves a trail. Friendships, families and relationships have been destroyed by simple key strokes that were never meant to be seen by anyone but the sender and the receiver. After all of the episodes of Dr. Phil, Jerry Springer, and countless other experts in relationships, you have to imagine, "What were they thinking?" Obviously they weren't or they would not have done it.That is, unless they wanted to get caught. That brings about an entirely different twist to the situation. Maybe this will be discussed in another "Snap. Shot." but not this one.

The photo above is one I for sure did not take. It's of the text she received. I have blacked out some of the information, not that anyone would know who it was, but just a situation where there was a little "TMI." In the end, this is a huge wake up call for anyone who uses any form of electronic communication—if you think you won't get caught, you won't. That is until you hit that send button.

Thanks for stopping by.