Micro Adjusting Text
I find myself more aware of this jumping back and forth between work email, work teams messages, family texts, second job messaging, and 3rd level acquaintances. One thing I do appreciate about AI at work is that I typically relegate most of the information heavy communication (that no one likely reads and is only food for other people’s robot anyway) to it - I do a quick review and don’t have much of a second thought. That has cleared up some mental space for other things.
“Hazrat worries that in our disembodied age, communication demands punctuation that can do more emotional labor than our current marks can handle. She has a point: Think of all the micro-adjustments we have to make as we go from texting family and friends to slacking colleagues to emailing to posting. But I think the problem with online punctuation is that it does too much, not too little. At any rate, my stabs at punctuating like someone in the know generally make me look silly.”
Excerpt From
“Punctuation: A Generational Divide”
Judith Shulevitz
The Atlantic (August 2026)
Punctuation: A Generational Divide — The Atlantic
