If you can’t detect sarcasm – you’re going to have a lot of misunderstandings with friends and family plus fall easily into several traps in life.
Is sarcasm good or bad? Infact, there are studies that claim “not understanding sarcasm can be a warning sign of dementia later in life.
Are sarcasm and humor the same
Sarcasm can be used as a tool to build rapport or to put someone down. It all depends on the intent of the person using it.
Where does sarcasm come from
History and types of Sarcasm:
Sarcasm has been around for centuries. It was once used as a form of wit and humor, but it has since evolved into something more complex. There are many different ways to be sarcastic.
Some sarcasm is lighthearted and harmless, while other sarcasm is mean-spirited and hurtful.
What does sarcasm say about a person
We had a course mate in school that was extremely sarcastic. His response to every question was a joke – it didn’t matter how serious you were.
Funny enough, he was smart academically. Whatever jokes and pranks he made never affected his grades. Then all of a sudden – he dropped out. It wasn’t really clear but we heard he went to pursue a football dream in a foreign country.
The sad part of the story was he came back after 3 years or so to see if he could start all over as his plans didn’t work out. He became very bitter and reserved. The same person that was joking all around before could barely say a word.
It made me think much of who he really was all the time he was “King of Sarcasm.”
Who was behind the smiles and unnecessary jokes? I’m not against being Jovial or taking life less seriously ….The danger is when you allow Sarcasm do more harm than good:
Hide the real you.
How much sarcasm is too much
Why i decided to tone down Sarcasm?
In fact, I was this way before; I had a lot of insecurities as a kid and even through my teenage years. I could barely laugh without covering my mouth.
And to crown it all – I was amongst the most sarcastic person you could think of.
Then I got physically sick. I decided to start making changes to my life and stop following the crowd.
One of the first things I decided to tone down my SARCASM. It was time for not just others to take me seriously but for me to take myself seriously.
Enough saying one thing while I meant the other. Not sure if you could communicate without sarcasm?
5 things I did to tone down sarcasm
1: Became more self-aware
Its funny most sarcastic people think they’re in control of their emotions and words– but a few like me didn’t know what we were doing.
Some people use sarcasm as a way to keep people at a distance. It can be used as a way to avoid intimacy or to protect oneself from getting hurt.In fact I think sarcasm is a low vibration form of communication.
Think of a 5 year old kid that answers every question with Sarcasm. Except you’re really strong or experienced, you may just be projecting your insecurity on others without taking responsibility for your emotions.
2: Set clearer priorities
Having a sense of humor is cool but sarcasm can be usually crueler than that.
If you have clearer and higher priorities – you may have little time for being sarcastic.
Of course, there are exceptions – you may be a stand-up comedian or have any other career that involves playing around with your personality.
But most sarcastic people I’ve seen have normal careers. So, I don’t see any downside of learning to say what you mean directly even if you add some humour without sarcasm.
3: Attract like minds
You tend to attract the same kind of personality you portray. I’m not cool with being sarcastic with every statement so eliminating most of my sarcasm has helped me attract clearer people in terms of communication.
Sarcasm can be used as a way to manipulate or control others. It can also be used as a weapon to hurt someone emotionally or to make them feel inferior.
4: Developed Empathy
There’s a fine line with sarcasm. It can be difficult to tell when someone is being sarcastic. This can often lead to hurt feelings or miscommunications.
Sarcasm can be hostility disguised as wit and humour. With some empathy – you seek to stop mocking others or play harsh.
Not everybody would take you sarcasm lightly – so you may need to lower the sarcasm to become more empathetic in life.
5: Chose Discipline
Some people believe that sarcasm is a sign of intelligence. They believe that it requires a certain level of wit and creativity to come up with sarcastic comments.
While having a good sense of sarcasm may be a sign of intelligence; tapering it down when necessary involves discipline. That’s why it’s hard to even stop or even know you’ve gone overboard with sarcasm.
There are kids who are more sarcastic than adults because their parents or guardians didn’t put much effort on disciplining their tongues or words.
How to Use Sarcasm
I’ve seen people make request for a special font online to indicate sarcasm. If used correctly, sarcasm can be a great way to add humor to a conversation.
But if used incorrectly, it can be hurtful and offensive.
Some things to keep in mind while using sarcasm:-
- making sure the other person will understand it in the end
- not allowing it overshadow your personality trait.
