What is it about the internet that makes us such douchebags?

[Alssadar]

As they all say, anonymity, long distance, and a lack of consequences. You can kick a guy down on the internet, have the target never even know what you look like or remember your name, and thus, you can escape problem free.
But, I have some morals that prevent me from being a true dick, as I have a conscience that is still hating me for the racist joke I made in 8th grade.

 

[Draconalis]

Simple. People don't punch you in the face when you're anonymous behind miles and miles of fiber optic cable, and so people feel the need to throw away any manners or decency that they should have been taught by their parents.

I love this particularly argument. Anytime someone threatens me with violence for being an asshole, I tend to reply that I wish they could meet me face to face and punch me as well. I would press charges faster than you can say 'troll'.

I know you're stating this as reason, and I'm not saying you would threaten someone, but I respect the law out of fear of consequences, and I sure as hell will make it work for me when I can.

 

[dickywebster]

You can say what you want, anyone you annoy will never know who you are or be able to get to you, its a "safety" thing.

 

[MarsProbe]

Reading this reminds me of an ad that sometimes gets shown here (for a car insurance company I think). It shows a lot of people walking down an everyday street, except all the people are shoving each other around, shouting and generally being jerks from the looks of things.

The voiceover for the ad questions why some people behave this way when behind the wheel but not when they're out walking in the street. The ad doesn't pick up on this but one of the reasons of course is that when you're in your car, you can hurl abuse at someone in another vehicle and then drive off and leave them behind. Do that face to face to somebody on the street however and you're likely likely to have them turn on you.

Same reason really, we'll act like jerks when we know we can just move away from the situation.

Speak for yourself dickface.

Okay, the above was meant as a jest, but because I'm too lazy to find another example you may say something like that to a stranger on the internet, but doing so to someones face would be a different story...

 

[Sovereignty]

Because people don't actually have morals. Rather they pretend to have them to avoid adverse effects. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but those are few and far between.

Plus I think the majority of heavy internet forum posters/contributors were harassed/bullied/whatever as children and see the anonymity of the internet as a way to vent that frustration and get revenge so to speak.

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

Something like that.

I noticed the fuckwad formula had already been posted and really i think that describes it pretty well. Perhaps we just all have this instant desire to be jerks online since most of us keep a decent facade in real life and somtimes the repressed anger just wants out.

EDIT: The Escapist seemed to have eaten my picture...

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

As Tonto said to the Lone Ranger? "What's this 'we', paleface?"

Some of us can conduct ourself with aplomb.

Anyone who just says "Anonymity" is making a HUGE shield for themselves.

Does the G.I.F.T say why Gabe himself isn't a fuckwad?

 

[WaysideMaze]

ninja'd in the first post. I'd say it's anonymity.

although the moderators on this site seem to do a good job of keeping people in line.

 

[Aardvaarkman]

Oh, come on. We've all thought this. I find it very hard to beleive that people actaully go around cursing and being a genearal cock in real life.

Have you ever met a real person? That is exactly what we do.

 

[funguy2121]

Oh, come on. We've all thought this. I find it very hard to beleive that people actaully go around cursing and being a genearal cock in real life. So what is it about the internet that emboldens us? What makes us willing to say things we wouldn't? Why does simply being an unknown cause us to throw our nice qualities to the wind?

I, personally, think that we're all just trying to be annoying just once, just to see how it feels, then be all nice and wonderful and great again.

EDIT: Before everyone answers exactly the same thing, yes, I understand that its because of being anonymous, but why should that causes us to throw away our morals?

I think "throwing away our morals" is hyperbolic to the point of melodrama.

If you want to know why people are douchebags on the internet, listen to someone talking about politics in person. Usually, even if it's a person who expresses generally liberal views and claims to be a liberal himself/herself, you'll notice quite a bit of condescension towards...whomever disagrees with this person, but unless it's a particular pundit or politician, usually those who are just too stupid or too evil to get where the speaker is coming from are these nebulous spirit people who populate the ether. In other words, usually the person speaking doesn't want to actually offend anybody present by suggesting that they may be a Republican and therefore a backward twit or that they may vote Democrat because they are a huge pussy. It's my belief that the former, that perceived need to destroy any argument which opposes one's own, exists exclusively in people who interpret all new data in a way which will only reaffirm what they already believe, because they can't stomach their foundation being shook. Unfortunately, the "exclusive" here are far more than 90% of the populace. The latter comes, I think, partly from what Freud called the Superego - we gotta live in this world, after all - and partly from the faint perception that we may actually be wrong, and that if our grandiose, sweeping blanket statements that insult many and exclude more are wrong, then we won't just be perceived as colossal douchebags, but actually found out as colossal douchebags.

The internet takes all of this potential consequence, no matter how fabricated by our own mind it may be, away.

 

[gallaetha_matt]

I think it's because no matter where you are on the internet, there are always boobies at least two mouse clicks away. We're more likely to be cocks when we have the reward for being nice right there on the next tab.

My captcha said: What? Vision.

I think it's trying to summarise my post into two words.

 

[zehydra]

The internet doesn't make people douchebags, people just are. On the internet, they're allowed to be themselves without having to worry about repercussions (most of the time)

 

[Neverhoodian]

Have you ever heard of the greater internet fuckwad theory (regular person + anonymity =totalfuckwad

What a brilliant formula!

Here's a visual aid:

If people think they can get away with acting like a douche consequence-free, they're far more inclined to do so. As much as we like to think of ourselves as paragons of virtue, deep down we all have selfish, darker impulses that we'd like to indulge in. The internet with its anonymity provides such a venue for those that are too weak to fight such urges.

 

[CrawlingPastaHellion]

An ability to grief without the risk of being punched up the nose. So yeah, anonymity is pretty much THE reason. The other one being that human beings are just selfish douchebags in general, myself included.

 

[cgaWolf]

Anonymity & Lack of consequences are one part, but i believe the lack of empathy caused by being disconnected from those you're talking/writing to is the larger part. The lack of feedback & impossibility of immediately seeing how people react to what we say, mirrors syndromes connected to lack of empathy.

Our brain & body work in weird ways - we mimmick what we see, which in turn helps our brain understand how we're supposed to feel. Not having facial expressions/intonations we can read/hear -> mimic -> feel tears down fundamental tools for functioning in a social space.

On a complete sidenote, botox is fun that way too. It's hard to emphatize with botoxed people because you can't read them, and apparently the reverse is also true. While the mirror neirons might do their jobs, their facial msucles ain't, which deadens their ability to empathyze. Fun stuff, that.

 

[retyopy]

Oh, come on. We've all thought this. I find it very hard to beleive that people actaully go around cursing and being a genearal cock in real life.

Have you ever met a real person? That is exactly what we do.

Only if you act like a douche towards them.

 

[WickedSkin]

YOU change maybe.

Anyway don't people swear all the time? Aren't the plenty of complete cocks out there?