News of a new texting scandal has emerged as BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Tony Livesey and co-presenter Claire McDonnell reportedly have a falling out and are refusing to co-operate with each other.
Tony is believed to have mistakenly sent an email to another colleague criticizing Claire's presentation skills.
I feel terrible when something like this happens, but it's just too easy.
At the speed of email, you can tap the wrong symbol in an instant. I've done it myself. Just a few months ago, I wrote a playful email to a colleague about a press release I had received, but instead of sending it to her, I sent it back to the PR agency it came from.
Thankfully it wasn't rude or mean, but I did apologize. I never heard back, but they kept sending me press releases, so apparently they either didn't see it, didn't understand it, or just laughed it off.
I once sent a quick message to the wrong contact at work, tagging it with 3 kisses at the end, and a curt message to show my dad more respect – it was my husband. It was addressed to.
When something like that happens, your heart drops to the pit of your stomach.
Also, due to my lack of email know-how, I ended up sending a reply meant for one person to the entire list.
Social media is a minefield for embarrassing mistakes online. It's so scary that I avoid it as much as possible, even though I have to use it for work.
I wouldn't even think about scrolling through someone's X feed. I'm scared of accidentally putting a heart symbol on a plan to legalize heroin or make fur coats from polar bears.
A few weeks ago, one of my daughters sent me a message on WhatsApp. “Mom, you posted this on your WhatsApp story. I suggest you delete it.”
Now that I know what WhatsApp Stories are, I emailed them back and they said all my contacts could see it. I accidentally created it using a family photo.
A frantic episode ensued during which I made various attempts to get rid of it, following my daughter's instructions. Eventually this was successful and the panic ended.
I still don't know how I made this mistake. I'm worried that this will happen again when I use WhatsApp.
You might also click on the wrong message thread and send your thoughts to the wrong person. The problem is that for most people, it's their preferred method of communication.
When texting, it's easy to accidentally hit the wrong name in your address book.
In the old days, things were much simpler, whether it was a phone call, a letter, or a good old fashioned face-to-face conversation. I didn't have to worry about making a mistake and contacting the wrong person.
It's wise to carefully double-check the people you email or text, but it's easy to hit the wrong notes when you're busy.
I don't have an Instagram account, so that's one less thing to worry about.
If you wanted to be completely safe, you wouldn't write anything in writing, email, online, etc., but this is how we communicate. It is inevitable that you will make mistakes along the way. You won't lose friends or jobs by doing so.
