Originally Posted by
DGenBen
People can cast off all their negativity and rudeness on here & then go out in the real world & be kind and polite to the people they interact with.
ItÂ’s actually quite a valuable forum with that in mind,
DgenBen, if this were true, I would agree that there is
some value in that. But not only do I think this is not true, I think it is the opposite effect.
Hate and intolerance grows rapidly on social media of which I include internet forums (at least an extension of). Almost any time there is some horrific incident, shooting, multiple shooting of someone that is related to them being part of a group, Jews, Gays, ect, there is a direct connection to social media and internet participation. It is one of the first things police investigate when looking for a motive.
The internet and particularly the social media aspect of it (including forums) is...in my opinion, one of the worst things that could have come along.
(1) It allows people to talk and act in a manor they wouldn't have dared done so 20+ years ago.
(2) It allows people to connect with other like-minded folks and unfortunately that includes people festering hate and bigotry towards other groups of people
(3) And unfortunately, finding other like-minded people offers some support, whether real or imagined, for some to take shit off-line and do some of the things that hit the news almost everyday.
I guess the 2 words that best describe this are tribalism and demonization. You demonize those not in your tribe (in any way different than you) and that provides justification for shit that would be completely unacceptable 20 years ago. Not everybody of course, but those with any sort of issue, it feeds and fuels that issue.
We are just heading in the wrong direction.
Reply With Quote