Does the internet bring out the worst in people?

Do you think the internet brings out the worst in people?

  • Yes

    Votes: 28 73.7%
  • No

    Votes: 10 26.3%

  • Total voters
    38

A friend

Well-known member
This was probably asked before, but I just want to see what other people have to say about it.

Thanks for your input
 

Invisibleman

Well-known member
Of course it does.On the internet you are completely anonymous.Just look at the things people said to rebecca black,I doubt they wouldve said those things in person.
 

A friend

Well-known member
Though they can't show who they truly are in real life, I guess the internet would be a good place to test a person's true morality.
 

Seri

Active member
I think it can bring out the best and the worst. As mentioned people can hide under anonymity and seem to think that they can treat people terribly. On the other hand it means people like us who might have trouble talking can actually help, encourage and offer support for each other. People can be very generous giving to causes online too, and I'm sure there are other examples.
 

burdeninyourhands

Active member
I'm only 24 and I remember when all this internet stuff wasn't such a importance, its ridiculous and has caused people to ironically grow further apart.
 

MrJones

Well-known member
I guess that, like everything else in life, it depends.

People can show how they really are irl, how they would like to be or simply pretend to be someone else.

It can be good and bad.


In the internet I try to be who I would like to be, a better person than the real life me, who can't show himself due to SA...
 

InfraRecon

Active member
The internet, and what it allows us to do in terms of communication, media etc. is amazing. However, as freedom of speech dictates, everyone is entitled to an opinion and this is primarily what consists of the internet's uglier side.
I am so tired of watching YouTube videos then scrolling down to the comments just to see an argument which is in no way related to the video. These arguments are laughable, never-ending and painfully stalemate - anonymity means that everyone has the safety to be as insulting and rude as they can without putting themselves at risk, and you can take all the time you need to work out a comeback so no one ever concedes defeat. It is so tiresome and makes me bemoan mankind at times...
 

this_portrait

Well-known member
Yes. I think any form of communication that involves being behind a screen and keyboard brings out the worst in people. It's easier to express emotions (especially negative emotions) when you're typing. It's also easier to be mean over the 'net because of anonymity, and it's indirect. Most people who "bully" someone over the internet probably wouldn't dare approach that someone in person.
 

Deus_Ex_Lemur

Well-known member
I've seen a lot of good brought out by people... and bad. Like LIFE. Places like SPW where you can be anon but open more and connect more - overall - this place has brought out BETTER in ppl. Always bad apples and sick ppl - SPW no exception (as sadly we've seen...) or anyplace in life - but the internet sure is full of places where it's so easy to be bad and unleash that repressed id.

But like anything - when there's no connection and no consequences and you're free to be bad... it just makes sense ppl use a place like the internet to be their "worst". But again it depends WHERE on the internet too. =)
 
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Most of the stalemate and acrimony is instigated by the video makers themselves.
when the average internet citizen comes across an inept and egotistical abuser using the art of debate as an excuse to drag discussions (about any topic) into the gutter,then it is a natural reaction to try and stop idiots from teaching impressionable children how to be wrong on all counts.
Opinions are like *******s,everyone has one.Unfortunately it seems every ******* has a webcam nowadays.
If the general public,who enjoy a high level of good debate and enlightenment cannot be allowed to heckle individuals who behave like drunks with an idea,then we might as well sit whole classrooms of youngsters in front of YouTube and let these gormless idiots educate the next generation back into the dark ages.
If the qualification for being a teacher is now the dubious right to be flashy and dense then pass me a Quietus pill and I'll quietly leave the planet.
 

MaliceInWickedland

Well-known member
Of course. Just look at Youtube. Has anyone seen the comments people put on that video of the Haitian earthquake? I was thoroughly disgusted with the world at that time, saying things like "Those n****** got what they deserved!" or "Why couldn't this earthquake hit so and so country instead?" It doesn't even have to be Youtube. Click on any website that has a chatroom, forum, or anything of the like where people can speak their minds and you'll see the true and hideous face of humanity.

People apparently believe that the fact that they're hiding behind their computer screen gives them the right to degrade others to make themselves feel better. People know better than to say the things they do on the internet to someone in real life knowing they would just end up literally getting beat to within an inch of their life and that just shows how cowardly and fake we truly are. This is one of the very few places on the internet where I've only had one negative encounter with someone.
 

A friend

Well-known member
(I don't want this to get off topic or anything, but...)

Where do you think the majority of these cruel users come from?
 

Kat

Well-known member
I am not sure but I remember when I was much younger and use to visit a website and the people behaved a lot worse then what you see on youtube, they eventually got shut down but the strange things was I remember talking on a social phobia website about it and they kind of defended their behavior. :eek:


This seems to be a pretty good place. Just always good to take precautions though.
 
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gaddie

Member
Is the internet bringing out the worst of people? Good question and the answer I believe is that it is not really a bad thing, just as it isn't a good thing. The internet is just a global communication tool, it really depends on the users. This is why missionary people can use the internet to spread their word, while peadophiles also use it,

Hope this answers your question
Alex
Author of Beat The Bully
 

MikeyC

Well-known member
Of course. Just look at Youtube. Has anyone seen the comments people put on that video of the Haitian earthquake? I was thoroughly disgusted with the world at that time, saying things like "Those n****** got what they deserved!" or "Why couldn't this earthquake hit so and so country instead?" It doesn't even have to be Youtube. Click on any website that has a chatroom, forum, or anything of the like where people can speak their minds and you'll see the true and hideous face of humanity.
YouTube comments are the absolute nadir of society and I would love it if I could somehow turn that off every time I want to watch a video. The spitting venom that comes from some of those comments can detract everything about YouTube.

The Haitian earthquake is just one event...all events that come up on YouTube and any site that invites comments without moderation will soon turn into storms of ugliness and vitriol.

People apparently believe that the fact that they're hiding behind their computer screen gives them the right to degrade others to make themselves feel better.
The security of anonymity makes people let loose with insults and hatred, even if it's really not in them. I will admit I've been caught up in verbal stashes before, but I've come to realise that it's not worth it.

On another forum I go to, 95% of the users are males, and I've been told by a few of them that I'm a really nice guy, when fights are happening around the place. I don't see the need to get into arguments - debates are different if they're handled properly and both parties have respect for each other.

It's a very warped world when you step in front of the computer screen.
 

Aletheia

Well-known member
I never scroll down to the comment section of news articles, because they're so often full of the most hateful hateful hateful vitriolic awfulness. It makes me despair for humanity.

But the internet also breeds a lot of kindness: look at the forums here.

Where do you think the majority of these cruel users come from?

I think internet hate comes from the same source as road rage: anonymity. People never act that way in person, because they can see the other person as a person, rather than a wall of text.
 

philly2bits

Well-known member
No, it does not. What we do when we know there will be no repercussions is our true self. So the anonymity of the internet does not bring out the worst in people, it brings out the worst people.
 

vj288

not actually Fiona Apple
I think it does. I don't think the lack of real life consequences "shows our true colors," someone who acts like a horrible person online I don't think is a horrible person in reality necessarily. We all have good qualities in us and we all have bad, and the facelessness of the internet just allows for the worst of our qualities to bloom and flourish if we let them.

I mean if you are a mean person who likes posting "Go eat a sandwich" on Fiona Apple's video for criminal, doing so will just bring out the meanness more.If there was no youtube, what would you do, go to her house and throw a brick with a letter attached threw her window? No, you'd just maybe think it. It would stay inside, not brought out. And your other less mean qualities would overshadow it. The internet is a device that allows for the worst to be brought out, it's not the only one in life either.
 
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