Online interactions are weirdly unique. They happen in shared, digital spaces—forums, chats, comment sections, social media platforms—where it’s easy to forget that more often than not, the people interacting with each other don’t share the same day-to-day reality. And sometimes that doesn’t matter. There are plenty of topics we can chat about that don’t have a connection with our lives. But there are also plenty who do have a connection and a profound one. From food to politics, from everything related to society to cultural norms. We all live in bubbles whether we like it or not. And it’s easy to forget about this fact when interacting online. Every time I stumble on someone making some wild claims about something I have to remind myself that maybe that specific thing appears wild to me because of my circumstances and it might be perfectly normal and reasonable somewhere else. And that’s why when I’m interacting with someone online I try to be both charitable in my interpretations of what others are saying and also generally curious and open-minded. Sometimes asking a question is all it takes to make a bubble pop and help a conversation move to a more interesting place. Thank you for keeping RSS alive. You're awesome. Email me :: Sign my guestbook :: Support for 1$/month :: See my awesome supporters :: Subscribe to People and Blogs