Paws and Reflect

Paws and Reflect

Haley's Journal

Feeling misunderstood: Assumptions in online communities

Haley Young's avatar
Haley Young
Jul 19, 2023
∙ Paid
Scout the blue heeler lies on gravel ground next to a yellow converted campervan

Lately I’ve been struggling with feeling misunderstood in the social media space. This is a sentiment I’ve written about before (particularly in this blog, this article, and this Instagram post) but every so often the chance of someone completely twisting my words makes me feel paralyzed all over again.

paws.andreflect
A post shared by @paws.andreflect

That fear is especially salient when I feel like I’ve recognized a lot of nuance on a topic and people still make sweeping generalizations or latch onto just one part of what I said.

Like, it’s one thing if we present a sort of vague or very concise message and someone fills in the blanks. That’s a natural inclination! We all come to the table with our own past experiences and connotations. But when authors specifically call out certain things, verbatim, and folks still somehow assume we’re making a completely different (and often extreme) point?

It’s disheartening.

Some examples of this:

Sometimes I need to get everything on paper so I don’t feel like I’m the off-base one. Here are a few e…

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Haley Young.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Haley Young · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture