The Thin Line of Instant Messenger

In person, it’s quite easy to know who you’re talking to. You’re at lunch or at a bar, and the person you’re looking at is the person you’re talking to. Granted, there may be someone eavesdropping or the person you’re talking to may be calling the police because they have a restraining order against you … but the point is this: in order to change conversations, you must do something physically with your body: turn to the left or right, walk to another table, etc.

Additionally, if you pause a conversation, you don’t usually forget who you’re talking to when you’d like to restart communication. Your eyes see who’s in front of you and they tell your brain, which usually (unless incredibly intoxicated) will deduce which person you’re conversing with.

The same cannot be said about instant messenger. For me, sometimes, there is a very thin line between conversing between your friend and your boss. And depending on which window your clumsy mouse has chosen to select, you may get a very different response.

Case in point: