Title: How to Deal with Sarcastic People | Savvy Psychologist
Headings: How to Deal with Mean Sarcasm
How to Deal with Mean Sarcasm
6-minute read
Featured on QDT
Sarcasm requires more advanced thinking skills
This doesn't mean sarcastic people are smarter, despite what some Internet articles might want you to believe.
Neither human judges nor machine algorithms are very good at identifying sarcasm on Twitter.
Why do people use sarcasm?
Next time you call customer service, your best bet is to be nice.
How to respond to mean sarcasm
Response #1: Answer them literally
Respond with the opposite of sarcasm—sincerity.
Response #2: Ignore them (and maybe throw some compassion their way)
Response #3: Label real feelings and follow up with sincere questions
Response #4: Give some free advice
About the Author
Jade Wu, PhD
More Tips from Savvy Psychologist

Content: Neither human judges nor machine algorithms are very good at identifying sarcasm on Twitter. It seems sarcasm detection is a skill both we and the robots need to work on. Neither human judges nor machine algorithms are very good at identifying sarcasm on Twitter. Why do people use sarcasm? But why go to all the trouble of performing this complicated cognitive-linguistic task? Fundamentally, sarcasm is a cover. It’s used to cover anger, embarrassment, awkwardness, envy, hostility, or inadequacy that, without the anti-sugarcoating of sarcasm, feels too forthright. So next time you hear someone use sarcasm, know that, for whatever reason, they couldn’t quite bring themselves to say what they meant directly. But it turns out that, sometimes, covering up strong emotions with sarcasm can be useful. A 2011 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology asked participants to listen to one of three versions of a customer complaining to his cell phone company: