Overreacting because someone doesn’t know something can make them feel crappy, embarrassed, like they’re missing out or stupid. It will make them more reluctant to talk about certain things with you.
Person 1 - I love movie name it’s a classic. Person 2 - I’ve never seen it Person 1 - Omg, how haven’t you seen it!?
Instead go with - I’d really recommend watching it, I think you’d like it. It’s about…
Or
Person 1 - Did you see person in the news Person 2 - Who’s that? Person 1 - Seriously, you haven’t heard of person
Instead go with - they are… they were in the news because of…
Doing this will build trust and a feeling of safety if they just don’t know things. They are also more likely to watch/listen/read etc the thing, and then come and talk to you about it afterwards too.
This is massive. People often reacted to my comments this way in the past and it felt like constant humiliation. I’ve become better at moving past these reactions, but they still throw me off my game a bit.
Obligatory relevant xkcd:
Addendum: don’t overreact if someone isn’t sure you’re serious and indicates as such, it’s a two way street.
For instance, I’m not going to launch into a full explanation of who people in a meme are just to get the response “I know, I was just being sarcastic.”
One of my high school friends always overreacted. Might be one of the reasons I don’t hang out with him anymore, not sure.
Aka don’t be a teenager
