Why Can’t People Just Do What They’re Told?

I don’t know when this started to become an issue but it definitely has. These days, people seem to have a terrible inability to follow instructions - or more specifically, to follow written instructions.

I have a feeling that it is the result of everything becoming a video. It is as though most people have lost the ability to read all the words, interpret them and act on them.

I see so many offers of jobs being posted on social media. The poster asks that a CV be emailed to them, yet so many people will instead comment something along the lines of “interested” or “how do I apply?” If I were the person offering the job, I would take note of all those people and make a point of never employing them. If you can’t follow simple, written instructions which tell you how to apply for the job, what bloody use will you be if you actually get the job?

There have been many times when I’ve seen something listed for sale on Facebook. Even on posts where the seller has specified a price and given an excellent description of their item, when you head to the comments section, you’re sure to find one or more people asking the price or requesting information which was already supplied.

I have stopped selling through social media for this very reason. Whenever I have listed items for sale on Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree, I have received many enquiries, almost all asking for information which was already supplied. I just can’t deal with that nonsense anymore. I would rather scrap an item that go through all that again. I have a limited time left on this planet and I woud prefer not to spend it repeating myself because people can’t be arsed to read what I’ve written.

I think we humans need to start reading more and spending less time scrolling TikTok and Instagram - having our brains bombarded with utterly useless bullshit in the form of “shorts”. We need to start teaching our brains how to extract useful information from text again. I say we, I do not scroll such sites and I read a lot. I actually enjoy studying … pretty much anything really, so I am very good with text (even though I am dyslexic).

This inability to extract information causes so many problems. It leads to many arguments on social media, even to the point where friends fall out. People take everything which is written so seriously and take offence where none was meant. This is actually quite understandable. Without adding some type of indicator such as /s or a laughing emoji, it can be difficult to know the emotion the writer intended to convey. In such a case, I think it is better to ask than to assume rudeness.

Too many people are too quick to take offence. Conversely, too many people write in an ambiguous manner. Perhaps we should all take a step back, reread things and if we determine we were right in the first place, move on with our days. That’s right, I do not advocate even responding. Don’t give anyone who tries to goad you the reaction they seek. Your day becomes less stressful and they are left feeling unfulfilled.

I suspect that many people will not have read this far as social media culture seems to dictate that anything more than a paragraph is unreadable. If, however, you have made it this far then I thank you for reading this rant and bid you a good day.