Money Can’t Buy Me Sarcasm

I read an article today and it reaffirmed my qualms about what can only be considered the addiction our society has with technology. I have long been wary and admittedly averted to text messaging, emailing and some social media vehicles because these venues rob the speaker (or, in this case, the typist) of any emotional expression. The reader is granted free reign to interpret the text however he or she chooses, which in undeniably risky.

The particular “punctuation mark,” as the creator has dubbed it (enthusiasts for the English language gasp in disgust), that has incensed me today is called a “SarcMark”. That’s right, social media junkies can now relay their sarcasm for just $1.99. The fact that a special symbol is required to properly deploy an emotional, social or humorous effect is the most egregious flaw of our technology-obsessed society. And, while I am certainly guilty of utilizing/abusing text messages far too frequently (there is a time and a place!), I certainly hope that any wit I attempt to portray is communicated through my diction, not a symbol that looks very similar to something I scribbled on notebooks during calculus lectures in college.

Moral of the story: text messages, tweets, Facebook wall posts or the like will simply never replace good old fashioned verbal communication.