People online tend to behave more aggressive and rude than they would if they were speaking in person. In my cyber wanderings I have come across more harassing and sarcastic attitudes than I have encountered in my entire life. People do not have to face the consequences of their words because they can hide behind the anonymity of the internet. This is a growing problem and will only become worse in the coming years. People need to remember that respect is something earned not demanded. The internet has become a lawless society where people go to vent their rage.
I have been online since it all began with the original dial-up, pay-as-you-go, service offered through America Online. In the beginning people had respect for each other, just as they would if they were standing face-to-face. But over the years this civility has declined so severely that I have seen people afraid to even speak for fear of ridicule or verbal attack. On discussion forums I have even witnessed verbal wars that have contained abusive insults, name-calling and sometimes death threats. The growing popularity for this familiar online trend could perhaps be attributed to the fact that our younger generations are growing up with the internet as an everyday tool and it is quickly replacing healthy social interactions they would normally experience in person. The vast numbers online also make it more difficult to be heard and a rude comment is more likely to be heard over a polite one.
In internet environments, the idea of anonymity can feel safe, giving a person the ability to speak freely on any topic they may feel the need to address. But it can also make a person feel very vulnerable and exposed to the petty childish behavior that can ensue. I have heard more often than not that it is a matter of freedom of speech and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Freedom of speech is having the right to speak your opinions and views without fear of persecution from the law, not being able to belittle someone to make themselves feel important. Hiding behind anonymity is a cowardly practice that somewhere along the way became acceptable behavior online. And the worst part is that the civil people just walk away from it, they have no other choice due the vast numbers of people who are poised and ready for attack.
Websites that are poorly moderated, such as YouTube.com[1] open the floor to people offering up a wide colorful array of what they like to call ‘their opinion’. What it really is a string of nonsense that does nothing but cause more anger and frustration to this growing situation. Many bulletin boards, which are also poorly moderated, are cluttered and littered with childish behavior and insulting remarks that are masked with sarcasm and witty comebacks. If you haven’t experienced this wonderful voyage through humanity’s cover for their own feelings of inadequacy, try joining a political forum that is labeled ‘friendly’ for open debates. The atmosphere is far from healthy and discussions can turn into an ugly match of abusive language and disrespectful banter. You know an issue has become a real problem when there are dozens of articles[2] that teach you how to handle the flaming that people are readily dishing out.
The only solution for this problem is to inform yourself, understand why people need to vent this way, and ignore about 95% of what is said by these obvious cowards hiding behind their computer monitors and anonymity. Talk to other people who have similar occurrences and learn how they dealt with it. It isn’t going to go away and it shouldn’t discourage you from wanting to enjoy your online experiences.
1. YouTube.com: http://www.youtube.com
2. BBC h2h2: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1082512