Post #4349027
2026-07-23 19:06 UTC
@mastafran@mastodon.art When it's not a scam, I think it's because they want attention/acknowledgement before putting the effort in. It used to be that until there was a completed greeting, one didn't get into the meat of the conversation, but now we're in an awkward transitional phase where people want to add some content beyond a greeting but still don't feel good going all in until there's been acknowledgement.
Ironically, I think AI might "help" finish that transition by devaluing writing (and reading).
Replies (1)
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@eishiya@mastodon.art 2026-07-23 19:09
@mastafran@mastodon.art To expand on that first part: I think a big part of it is that people don't learn to write letters any more, so their only model for online conversations are IRL conversations. It would be weird to launch into your whole thing into someone's ear IRL before being acknowledged, so they don't do it in text. They don't learn that there's a different etiquette for asynchronous communication, and don't spend enough time thinking about it to realise this on their own.