{"id":362317,"date":"2021-11-03T17:01:50","date_gmt":"2021-11-03T14:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/sealioning-is-the-word-that-sums-up-why-twitter-discussion-is-so-unbearable\/"},"modified":"2021-11-03T17:01:50","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T14:01:50","slug":"sealioning-is-the-word-that-sums-up-why-twitter-discussion-is-so-unbearable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/sealioning-is-the-word-that-sums-up-why-twitter-discussion-is-so-unbearable\/","title":{"rendered":"#’Sealioning’ is the word that sums up why Twitter discussion is so unbearable"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#’Sealioning’ is the word that sums up why Twitter<\/a> discussion is so unbearable<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n This neologism on Merriam-Webster\u2019s list of words to watch aptly describes the frustration of conversing online\n <\/div>\n
\n Over the decades, comics strip<\/a>s have birthed a number of words that became part of common speech. Consider \u201cbrainiac,\u201d believed to have its genesis in the name of the hyper-smart alien and Superman adversary who debuted in 1958. Or \u201cmilquetoast,\u201d based on the submissive character Caspar Milquetoast in the strip The<\/em> Timid Soul<\/em>, which first app<\/a>eared in 1924.<\/p>\n

And now comes \u201csealioning,\u201d a noun on Merriam-Webster\u2019s \u201cWords We\u2019re Watching\u201d list and defined as \u201ca harassment tactic by which a participant in a debate or online discussion pesters the other participant with disingenuous questions under the guise of sincerity, hoping to erode the patience or goodwill of the target to the point where they appear unreasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The word was coined after David Malki, who creates the comic Wondermark<\/em>, produced a strip in which a woman disparages sea lions. Immediately, one of the marine mammals approaches her, saying, \u201cI\u2019m just curious if you have any sources to back up your opinion\u201d and going on to declare, \u201cAre you unable to defend the statements you make? Or simply unwilling to have a reasoned discussion?\u201d The strip concludes with the sea lion insisting, \u201cVery well, we shall resume in one hour.\u201d<\/p>\n

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“Pardon me, I couldn’t help but overhear\u2026” \/\/ Wondermark #1062; The Terrible Sea Lion http:\/\/t.co\/mow0vnmWSS<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/7gByjQ4mAD<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Wondermark Comics (@wondermarkfeed) September 19, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The comic went viral. News<\/a> site indy100<\/em> from the British newspaper the Independent<\/em> proclaimed, \u201cThis comic is the most apt description of Twitter you\u2019ll ever see.\u201d Malki seems to have mixed feelings about having conceived the meme: \u201cI didn\u2019t set out to coin a phrase. I just wanted to make an observation,\u201d he says. \u201cThe core of what I set out to criticize is just the notion that any random patient stranger should feel entitled to as much of someone\u2019s attention as they want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

This article appears in print in the November 2021 issue of<\/em>\u00a0Maclean\u2019s\u00a0magazine with the headline, \u201cSealioning.\u201d Subscribe to the monthly print magazine\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em>
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