“How can I write a post?” Giovanni* asked me. He was not the only student who had voiced his anxiety as he sat in front of the computer.

“I don’t know who I’m writing to…. I can’t write to people I don’t know!”

Giovanni’s reaction to the thought of learning to use new social media is common – for many of us. People feel frightened by the unknown, especially unknown people. And for those learning English and using that language to communicate through the social media there are additional fears with regards to culture and language….

Since we humans developed language we have become used to conversing with people we could see, hear or had met.  So, while it’s true that writing, whether on scrolls, in books, newspapers or magazines meant we could communicate with people we didn’t know or see…. we didn’t see it that way. When we wrote we had an audience in mind whether it was our teacher, the boss, an editor, someone we loved, etc….

Whether we talked or wrote, whether we listened or read – we were and are, always, in some form of a relationship with someone. And so Giovanni was right: it is very hard to have a relationship with someone you don’t know, with someone you have never met….

But this is what social media seems to be asking us to do… or is it?

When we blog who are we writing to? When we use other new social media are we in a relationship with our readers, our listeners, our audience? And if we are, what impact does that have on the way we write, speak, act?

Communicating with other persons is about creating a relationship. It is people sharing with other people their ideas, hopes, fears, jokes, stories, experiences, know-how…. It is about a meeting of minds, working out solutions together, and, sometimes, even competing to have the last word….

So, to help Giovanni what advice do you think I should give him as he uses the new social media and writes a blog post in English? He is unsure of his audience. He doesn’t know who will be reading his blog nor what they will think of him or of his English.

Please feel free to write your advice or opinion in the comment box below. And thanks.

Eileen
Using Social Media To Develop English Language Skills 

*Giovanni is not his real name, although this is a true story.