2009-01-21, 06:11 AM
I just typed this up at work about a week ago for some reason, so I figured I'd post it on the forums I frequent along with my blog. I know it's long and won't take offense if nobody reads it. 
An ever rising trend that I have noticed in my many years of using the internet and frequenting forums is the rise of “Net Hostility”, the hostile and aggressive actions of those towards others with usually little to no provocation. Sure, some people “bait” the hostility from others for a laugh or attention, but others have no intention of such acts.
The problem with this stems from many things, one being the vastness of the internet and it’s seemingly never ending knowledge. Asking a question is usually in itself, cause for such hostility because it is interpreted by some as laziness with such tools as Google and Wikipedia with millions of answers at your fingertips. Another more common reason is anonymity which gives others the false sense of security and immunity from their words and actions. Now be it that they have personal issues that need to be worked out or just overall an angry person is real life is usually transparent to the real issue. The internet allows people to act in whatever manner they wish with little to no recourse to their actions. Thus acting like they normally would in real life or as a persona that they want people to see is at their own discretion and usually with very few people knowing the truth.
Net Hostility is more often seen on social sites such as blogs, chat rooms, forums, or any other site that allows a group of users to interact freely. This is because mob mentality takes over and it causes many adverse affects. If one person asks a simple question, say “Which is better, a pen or a pencil?”, this being a rather simple question and usually based on personal preference with each person having their own reasons why they prefer one over the other. Now another person comes in, explains his views which opens himself up for debate. Other people join in the discussion and it’s soon a rather lively debate with parties on both sides. Now coupled with the security of not facing these debates in person, the anonymity of the internet, and the support of multiple other people this rather simple question is now a “flame war” between 2 groups with differing opinions. This can be because to some it’s easier to resort to such hostile tactics rather than intelligent debate.
These interactions are expected in an environment such as the internet, it comes with the territory. But I write this because as of lately the amount of Net Hostility is rising at an exponential rate. Whether it be because of the current state of society, the current economic status of the world as a whole, or because some have become numb to its effects I do not know and fear that we will not be able to place one event as a specific reason for the increase.
One theory I have is that the media has a role to play in this with the ever increasing violence being displayed these days and all of the negativity having a direct impact on people causing them to either assume such hostility is commonplace or leaving them unable to see the benefit in a positive attitude. Negativity breeds negativity and I feel that the trend of Net Hostility is a monster that is feed upon itself which causes it to spread more and more. I myself have become a victim of this in the past, I say a victim because when we are born I believe that we have no ill will towards any other person, this feeling of anger and hate is conditioned into our minds and taught to us one way or another. This is not to say that anger and hate are bad feelings, they help drive you to your decisions like any other feeling, but these can also cause misdirection.
We are victims of Net Hostility because after prolong exposure we might just assume that such anger towards others usernames, because after all that is what you are talking to a simple username on a monitor, is acceptable. Not only is it acceptable, it’s encouraged by some which feeds into our egos and our inherent need to belong and feel accepted, respected, and/or in control. After being both the target and conveyor of such hostile actions, it might just numb our conscious to the impact it may have on others.
Now the majority of people know that there is a line between the internet and real life, some people do not though and thus where the Net Hostility becomes a major issue for society. Will Net Hostility breed a more dangerous, heartless, and uncaring world? Will Net Hostility carry over and begin impacting people’s real lives so much so that we start to see people’s online persona’s taking over? Lastly, will Net Hostility be a catalyst for something even greater, something we are people are unprepared for?
Is there any way to stop or control Net Hostility? I’m sure there is something out there somewhere, but asking such a question online will only further the problem which will damage any attempts for a solution. Keep in mind that all victims of Net Hostility are not bad people per se, again some of these people are just expressing their anger in a normally safe, anonymous outlet and in some cases this isn’t entirely their fault. Placing blame is not a viable option because determining the cause is so hard in such a large environment like the internet, it would be more beneficial to take positive steps to correct the exposure to negative thoughts or other types of stimuli in your own life.
An ever rising trend that I have noticed in my many years of using the internet and frequenting forums is the rise of “Net Hostility”, the hostile and aggressive actions of those towards others with usually little to no provocation. Sure, some people “bait” the hostility from others for a laugh or attention, but others have no intention of such acts.
The problem with this stems from many things, one being the vastness of the internet and it’s seemingly never ending knowledge. Asking a question is usually in itself, cause for such hostility because it is interpreted by some as laziness with such tools as Google and Wikipedia with millions of answers at your fingertips. Another more common reason is anonymity which gives others the false sense of security and immunity from their words and actions. Now be it that they have personal issues that need to be worked out or just overall an angry person is real life is usually transparent to the real issue. The internet allows people to act in whatever manner they wish with little to no recourse to their actions. Thus acting like they normally would in real life or as a persona that they want people to see is at their own discretion and usually with very few people knowing the truth.
Net Hostility is more often seen on social sites such as blogs, chat rooms, forums, or any other site that allows a group of users to interact freely. This is because mob mentality takes over and it causes many adverse affects. If one person asks a simple question, say “Which is better, a pen or a pencil?”, this being a rather simple question and usually based on personal preference with each person having their own reasons why they prefer one over the other. Now another person comes in, explains his views which opens himself up for debate. Other people join in the discussion and it’s soon a rather lively debate with parties on both sides. Now coupled with the security of not facing these debates in person, the anonymity of the internet, and the support of multiple other people this rather simple question is now a “flame war” between 2 groups with differing opinions. This can be because to some it’s easier to resort to such hostile tactics rather than intelligent debate.
These interactions are expected in an environment such as the internet, it comes with the territory. But I write this because as of lately the amount of Net Hostility is rising at an exponential rate. Whether it be because of the current state of society, the current economic status of the world as a whole, or because some have become numb to its effects I do not know and fear that we will not be able to place one event as a specific reason for the increase.
One theory I have is that the media has a role to play in this with the ever increasing violence being displayed these days and all of the negativity having a direct impact on people causing them to either assume such hostility is commonplace or leaving them unable to see the benefit in a positive attitude. Negativity breeds negativity and I feel that the trend of Net Hostility is a monster that is feed upon itself which causes it to spread more and more. I myself have become a victim of this in the past, I say a victim because when we are born I believe that we have no ill will towards any other person, this feeling of anger and hate is conditioned into our minds and taught to us one way or another. This is not to say that anger and hate are bad feelings, they help drive you to your decisions like any other feeling, but these can also cause misdirection.
We are victims of Net Hostility because after prolong exposure we might just assume that such anger towards others usernames, because after all that is what you are talking to a simple username on a monitor, is acceptable. Not only is it acceptable, it’s encouraged by some which feeds into our egos and our inherent need to belong and feel accepted, respected, and/or in control. After being both the target and conveyor of such hostile actions, it might just numb our conscious to the impact it may have on others.
Now the majority of people know that there is a line between the internet and real life, some people do not though and thus where the Net Hostility becomes a major issue for society. Will Net Hostility breed a more dangerous, heartless, and uncaring world? Will Net Hostility carry over and begin impacting people’s real lives so much so that we start to see people’s online persona’s taking over? Lastly, will Net Hostility be a catalyst for something even greater, something we are people are unprepared for?
Is there any way to stop or control Net Hostility? I’m sure there is something out there somewhere, but asking such a question online will only further the problem which will damage any attempts for a solution. Keep in mind that all victims of Net Hostility are not bad people per se, again some of these people are just expressing their anger in a normally safe, anonymous outlet and in some cases this isn’t entirely their fault. Placing blame is not a viable option because determining the cause is so hard in such a large environment like the internet, it would be more beneficial to take positive steps to correct the exposure to negative thoughts or other types of stimuli in your own life.
