cuddly_tomato said:
Nightzirk said:
If you cry yourself to sleep at night because of what some fuckwad said on the internet, then you should probably see a shrink about self-esteem issues.
I think half the problem is this - this almost sounds like you are blaming the victim of a troll for being too sensitive, rather than blaming the troll for being part of the slime of humanity. Internet culture seems to be adapting towards accepting that people should behave like dicks towards each other, and that anyone who doesn't like it shouldn't be "playing". I think this is a completely wrong mindset to take.
Yeah, I'm sorry, but death threats on the internet should be taken seriously. It's just another form of communication. In the early days, we took it to be this perfectly anonymous forum where we could vent our innermost darkness if we wanted, but it's become increasingly harder to do so. The internet has shifted to becoming a public forum, and you have to watch your ass, lest it cost you a spouse, a job, or your life. You have to at least use a bit of logic with it.
At the same time though, I don't agree with the articles that you posted. The first was just a USA Today-style fluff piece about internet rage--spare me. It's a bullshit attempt at yellow journalism. The second was a bit more disconcerting, I admit. But the thing is this: people have always had these thoughts and urges. They just have a vent for them now. The overwhelming majority of negativity I have seen on the internet has been promulgated by younger people expressing themselves in an exceptionally negative way. They have a vent for that now. I would be surprised to find that the poor girl who was the target of death threats was in legitimate danger. It sounds more like some shitheaded 13-year-olds showing no mercy.
And that's pretty much how things have always been. People have been vicious to each other for a long time. It's just that we're seeing it in written form for the first time. This is no different from being cursed out randomly on the street or at a party or any other sort of public venue. We can just track it now. Little girls have been getting leukemia for a long time and there have been people who have shown no mercy, even with the threat of social reprisal.
I recall in my youth that there was a girl who was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes. The next day, we had a huge ice cream party and this little ***** of a girl came up to her and said, "Ha ha, you can't have any!"
Of course, now she'd just use MySpace. But it wouldn't alter the behavior.
I think you're more horrified that people act this way. The internet's just a tool. Don't blame the hammer though. Blame the craftsman.