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I'm not a very nostalgic person and I consider "Everything was better in the good old days." utter nonsense. For one thing, everything couldn't have been better because we were offline. But lately, I find myself pondering over how the Internet is changing us if it is changing us at all.
Admittedly, cussing online has been with us since the beginning of the Internet, preferably overblown and vulgar. Online, anything's up for a heated debate and, surprisingly, I've encountered the most heated discussions when the topic was either the keeping of animals or nutrition. How the most amicable of characters can turn into animals and start a holy war when discussing the keeping of cats or the benefits of a vegan lifestyle will most likely be comprehensible to like-minded spirits only. This has the potential to turn into fanaticism and rot people's souls.
I don't find these cases all too worrisome, they are few and the blatant zealotism is easy to spot. Fanatics have been with us since the beginning of time. Whether it's musical styles, religion, political systems or hairstyles, people have always been insulted and compared to various creatures from the animal kingdom. That never gave me cause for concern and especially anonymity makes it easy to swear, we know that from soccer stadiums or daily traffic. But what I've been reading in the comments on Youtube, Facebook or traditional media sites lately points to a discomforting trend: All bets are off and anything goes.
Particularly alarming: Even when people have to state their full name that doesn't stop them. Family men who post charming photos of themselves holding their kids and smiling into the camera wish death on any and all dissenters. Has this always been the case or am I getting a little thin-skinned in my old days? Obviously, these people are convinced that any remark, no matter how vile, will go unpunished. I like to speak my mind as much as the next person but I'd feel ashamed if I let out that much hatred and bile. Is the Internet slowly turning into a place of lawless anarchy, a breeding ground for ruthless aggression? Where is this coming from?
The cynics among my friends believe that the stupid have finally arrived on the web. Those who know and have learned very little and feel a need to respond to everything they don't understand with violence. It was always clear that the Internet would develop from a serene oasis into a mass medium. Even the clueless that barely know how to switch on a computer can now surf the web on their smartphones and make contributions, sometimes as sensitive as a nail bomb. When arguments and punctuation go the way of the Incredible Hulk, you realize they just don't know any better. Shame.
What genuinely scares me are the guys that could easily be my neighbors. Guys that take good care of their loved ones, and their pets, and come across as the genuine nice guy. I recently saw a person whose remarks I know from Facebook at a supermarket. And while he was picking a pepper, I thought to myself "That's the guy that is rooting for Putin to become the world leader." I would barely have noticed him otherwise. When guys like him plow through the Internet and unleash a swathe of curses, allegations and insults on anyone who doesn't share their opinion, that is a cause for concern.
Is it the information overload that has made our view of the world so complicated and barely manageable? Is it the media that portraits events ever more hysterically in their quest for ratings and clicks? Or is it the world itself that is changing, calling many things into question that seemed so reasonable before?
It should be clear to everyone that aggression is an unsuitable means of supporting an argument. You won't win anyone over by calling their parents siblings. A friend once told be "Write as if the person were sitting in front of you. With a big club in their hand." This approach may seem a bit defensive but let's be frank: If we can't manage to communicate in a civilized manner on the Internet, it'll only spread us further apart than unite us. People will become more radical, ordinary folks and not just religious extremists that you hear about on the news. Maybe we'll become more distrustful of our neighbors once we read what they let out in a fit of rage. In this case, the Internet that was originally intended to unite us would have completely defeated its purpose.
I soooo do not agree with the arguments.
1) The Internet was never made to unite “us”. Who is “us” anyway.
The Internet was started, because people came up with ideas how to link computers for task purposes and communication. Many say, it grew so rapidly because it remained uncensored for the longest time and became the base for porn exchange, star trec fans and gaming.
Back then, we had a lot of etiquettes, that most of us followed, but they were mostly geared to solve technical problems, e.g. never use capital letters for communication, always reduce the size of your attachments, never use “reply” and leave the whole original letter in the quote section, etc.
It was normal to use aliases, and yes, people who violated certain ethics and became disruptive were quickly barred from their access to sites. As there were only small internet providers, it was in the interest of the provider to monitor bahaviour, because certain disruptive conduct would slow the growth of the business. This means, we were censored to a certain degree.
2) As many more people joined, technology developed so rapidly, that ethnics just seem to stand in the way of rapid growth. If a company was large “enough”, they still had some rules. Still today, those companies who are fighting for more growths, have less ethics and rules. E.g. “Bing” seems to be the best porn machine out there, for beginners. Even a kid can find out to use it to find virtually everything that is produced in that sector, for free and despite parental suprvision.
3) People are people; on the Internet, on the road, in the classroom or anywhere else. Think of all the different types o people that exist, and what a person could possibly go through. You are surrounded by them, every day: the thief, the sexists, the rapist, the abuser, the ruthless; people with dangerous mental disorders, people with all kinds of religious and political convictions, people who are temporarily, emotional unbalanced, the oblivious, the educated child and the stupid adult, the addict, the horny, the pervert, the phisher, the macho, the radical feminist, the vegan..............all out there - awesome people, and dangerous people, all depending on your and their point of view. Just think of all the people you did not like in school.....all out there, and maybe even looking for you. Everyone with a conviction, if not mission.
4) It comes down to your own life skills, vanity, smartness and your other character trades, how you are using the internet. We can not put all the “bad people” into prison, and we certainly can not block them from the net (who says who is who anyway? YOU?)
Making yourself widely available for everyone to see and read, is like sleeping naked on a blanket, in a park, with your credit cards and diary out in the open, right beside you, as a young attractive woman.
Of course, you can expect that EVERYONE will behave and respect you and your possessions.
How likely you think that is?
So, apply to the internet, what you apply in your life otherwise. Lock your house, lock your car, hang out with friends and have ground rules how you meet new people, and how you need to stay safe with the reality we live in. Don't leave your vital information with anyone, but people you trust with your life.
5) One of the problems is, as you say, that anybody can use the internet, if they can just find the on switch and know how to get into e.g. facebook.
So, my advice to you is, that you learn more how the internet and computers work.
Yes, you do not need to be vulnerable; you can have a non identifying facebook account; an email address that does not point to you and there are safeguards and options on most social web-sites you can use to block strangers from interfering with your life.
Don't complain to others about what you can not do, and how society really is, DO SOMETHING and LEARN more. There is more that facebook, mass emails and a Window operating system to an Internet life.
5) To judge people by how they use punctuation is shallow and prejudice. My English spelling sucks and so does my spelling. I also have a learning disability.
On the other side, I have 3 university degrees, and speak a handful of languages (imperfectly).
I never got the hang of how languages make sense.
1) I’m referring to the idea of a “global village“ that was prevalent at the onset of the Internet. The idea (or utopian dream) that the Internet would bring people from all over the world together. 2 + 3) No objections 4) I’m not suggesting that people should be blocked or removed from the Internet. I’m trying to point out that communication skills are deteriorating rapidly. 5) Both spelling *and* argument styles. Many that lack essential writing skills can still think well and clearly. 6) Your punctuation isn’t all that bad :)
I agree with you completely about the "social networks" , aka facebook, twitter, etc. They are not social and I wonder if they ever were anymore than a place for ads. I don't use any of them. I used facebook for about two days and ended up with more junk in my inbox than imaginable.
There is no shame or accountabilty on the internet any more. I have also wondered if broadcast tv is going the same way as there is nothing censored anymore, language or otherwise. Even a lot of the news is becoming more sensational instead of informative.
I go by the adage that common sense isn't common any more. I don't do Facebook or Twitter either. I have a large TV hanging on my wall but it hasn't been used as a TV for over a year as it seems we are being served up the same as the Romans: Bread and Circuses.
Like RTP i don't DO Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any of the other antisocial websites - can't see the point in reading the mainly egocentric rubbish posted there, I had a Facebook account briefly, I think it lasted about a week and found it utterly pathetic and populated by people with nothing to say of any interest to anyone else. Sadly I understand that even well regarded companies are exploiting these media as a means to expand their advertising.
My feelings as well. I don't "do" Facebook or Twitter so can avoid a lot of the mudslinging, but more & more on the comments section of websites things are getting nasty. IMDB for example is becoming a verbal War zone nowadays; people wishing death on others over disagreeing with them about fictional events in Movies or on TV! Incredible.
Indeed! IMDB is one of the most unnecessary war zones ever.
Hello Sven, great blog entry. I will admit I have unleashed once on social media but it was at a cyclist who blatantly disregarded the laws of the road and admitted they would ride through red lights and damn anybody else. That to me deserved a reply. However I believe my reply was grammatically correct unlike the original post which had spelling errors all over the place. It may true that the stupid folk have finally arrived, or at least those who certainly need more 'help' in understanding. It's a shame, I suppose, that certain people can only behave in this rude and unwarranted manor online. I suspect that unless alcohol fuelled they would not behave like that face to face. As you touched on, let's talk, discuss even argue with structure, but leave the anger and obscenities out of it - they are just not needed.