Sarcasm, a form of verbal irony often used when either making jokes or slyly sharing your feelings, is harder for people to understand than we realize.
Anecdotally, sarcasm is one of the most used comedic tools for teenagers. Often we use sarcasm in a playful setting, the intent being to make a joke. This could be us teasing our friends or joking about an event that occurred.
“I think it really shows character,” junior Ahryiana Hatten said. “There’s some people out there that are way too serious for me.”
For some people, the joke layered in sarcasm can get lost and they are left utterly confused. This can be due to the way the joke was set up or the person’s perception of the entire situation.
“It depends on the person’s delivery,” senior Sophia Simonetti said. “You can tell by the tone and delivery. [It’s] like a time and place thing.”
However, the sarcastic person’s handle of the whole situation can impact how the person receives their comment.
“A lot of people don’t know how to use sarcasm correctly,” Simonetti states. “There is a certain extent to where [people] can cross boundaries, but because they said it in a sarcastic way, they think that [it] would be okay.”
In these cases, people may be trying to use their sarcastic comments to share a deeper problem. According to Psychology Today, sarcastic comments allow them to avoid sharing their feelings openly.
“Sarcasm is something that I use to cope in serious situations,” Simmonetti states. “I downplay my emotions a lot, so I use sarcasm to [help downplay].”
Still, communication is an essential part of life, but how are we supposed to know what someone is really thinking when they are being sarcastic? Some people have go to methods like using their body language.
“When I’m sarcastic, I’m either smiling or I change the way [I] sound or the way [my] face is,” Hatten says.
But for others, that may not be enough of a cue. In those cases, most people might clarify the joke.
“If you’re going to make a joke with somebody and it doesn’t go through, it’s disrespectful if you don’t explain it,” senior Vanessa Brito said.
However, it is usually agreed that there is a time and place for sarcasm. Hatten has a general rule of thumb she tends to follow when using sarcasm in her conversations.
“If it’s someone I just met, I don’t usually use [sarcasm],” Hatten said.
When using sarcasm a lot is at stake. You never know if the person will get what you’re trying to say or how it will go over. If it is such a risky tool, should we even use it?
“As long as they’re not using it as a backhanded compliment where you are purposely trying to make a person feel bad, I don’t see any problem with sarcasm,” Simonetti said. “But like I said, you have to know how to use it correctly.”