So I was sitting and having a chat with Joe, Fleur and Oonagh (actually disrupting their work) and Fleur had just sent an sms message which she would have liked to retrieve immediately.

As panic and desperation ensued, Joe asked: ” why isn’t there an unsend button for sms?”

Most of us would have been in that situation.

A message or an email sent to the wrong person, a bad grammatical error.

More often, in my case at least, impulsiveness and speed often result in communicating something which is a bit rushed, creating unintended results.  Not long ago, a simple request for a meeting at the wrong time resulted to series of misunderstandings and recriminations.  I am still paying the consequences.

Ah, if only there had been an unsend button.

This can be done on email, but it often backfires.  Have you ever received and read an email, only to see the sender desperately trying to “recall”  it after a couple of minutes.  I find it quite funny, all of the sudden the first version of the email becomes very interesting.  Why did he want to recall it, what major error or lack of judgement was hidden in that message that at first appeared to be so innocuous?  Let me read it again.

This is the case for electronic communication, but perhaps the real unsend button should be available for real life.

Examples:

1. I love you so much!  Mind rushing… unsend! unsend!  I did not mean that!
2. I do not love you anymore, I am leaving you, you are too demanding!  oops why did I say that, I did not mean it: unsend! unsend!
3. And what if we could rewind entire life chapters, like that time at the pub, that meeting at corporate, that fateful dinner with the family.  Or maybe that evening where I met her for the first time with her friend in Neutral Bay.  Unsend!  Rewind!  I am sorry.  Rewind!

It would be comfortable.  Yes I know the practicality and feasibility of a real Unsend button for life is unlikely.

Although, with progress in technology and the resolution of teleportation, maybe one day such a feature will be available.  All sci-fi enthusiasts know that teleportation implies time travel, so maybe….

The real question though is another one.  Would we really want to have a real life Unsend button?

At prima facie, the answer is yes.  we want it and we use it in social media and electronic communications.  we have somewhat the right to rectify mistakes don’t we?

On the other hand, the irreversible sequence of time has a bit of beauty to it.  The imperfection in communication creates entertainment.  Often opens a window in our true intentions and feelings.

Going back to example 1:

“I love you!”  Mind rushing… unsend! unsend!  I did not mean that!

The life machine says: “Sorry no unsend feature available at this time…”

And then, surprisingly, she replies: “I love you too”

Can you imagine the missed opportunity if the unsend button at work.

In conclusion, the life unsend button would be helpful, especially to clumsy people like me.

But I do not want it. I choose to live with my mistakes.  And you?