Recently, as I was talking with a colleague about the phenomena of online passive aggression, he casually remarked, “Truthfully, passive aggressive behavior is just plain fun. Getting back at other people in socially acceptable ways is so easy to do these days now that so much of what we say and do happens through a keyboard instead of person to person.”
“What an honest comment,” I thought, “about such a dishonest way of communicating.” Indeed, taking jabs at others while eluding direct confrontation is the immediate gratification afforded by today’s technology and the modus operandi of the passive aggressive.