Has Internet communication changed for the worse?

[xrisx]

I read a quote by Prince the other day where he was saying that the Internet is dead.
I thought about it, and then I realized I have been thinking about the way the internet has changed as well.

I have been thinking about this for a while now but it seems that so many people are so mean and angry on the internet.
Just looking on Youtube comments or any other music site with comments you will see people cursing for no reason, threatening people for no real reason and so on.
A lot of a people are so harsh on the internet, like this is the place where they vent all their anger about the world or relieve all the stress they experience in their everyday lives.

Was it always this way? 'Cause I don't remember encountering it this often like I don't know 6 years a go.
Maybe it's just me and it has always been this way but it just saddens me a lot.
I don't understand why there is so much anger Online everywhere you look.
Is this really the world we live in? If so I don't know how long I can take all of it..it's depressing really if the world is that shallow.

 

[suzynyc]

I see a lot of anger and hostility on the internet also. I guess the anonymity gives people a license to be mean and rude. Also, it's become a place where self-involved people share even the most mundane or personal information with the world (Twitter).

On the other hand, Prince is wrong. The internet is not dead and never will be. I could not live without it and would not dream of turning back to the stone ages.

 

[janena]

I can remember anger in the earlier internet era (for me thats 1999 u9 until 2004 or so) but i do sense things have changed since in therms of loose contacts..

Back then i had a steady (relatively small) group of people i would talk to in chatrooms and on icq/yahoo...

These days everyone seems to have 100's of 'friends' on their facebook and twitter account and most of those friendships mean very little...

 

[Amber Dawn]

Online Bullies they're so tough behind a computer screen but they probably are not so tough in real life. People are very angry online! Maybe because nobody else will listen to them so they vent out their anger on innocent people...

Also I see the same things happening in real life as far as Cliques even online there could be a close group of "friends" who find it hard to accept someone else in their online community. Anyone else is a outcast and they feel like they don't belong.. Only here because they share 1 common interest (whatever the forum/chat room may be about)


I don't see the internet dying down anytime soon.. There's always something new to discover on the internet! I'm still a little jealous of the kids who seem to have it so easy these days by going online getting information about a subject when I as a student had to make MANY MANY trips to the library and pay a Nickel to get copies printed off a book for a assignment lol

 

[kottur13]

Haha...no.

 

[PoP]

Those comments on YouTube can be so atrocious at times, if I were on that I tell them to "SHUT UP!" They're a lot of haters out there that they just wanna pick a fight with anyone. I was a member of the animeb.com, I had fights with MJ haters there regarding about 93', I tell ya they're frickin' retarded, no matter what I tried get their senses, they just won't listen. If they don't listen, then I wish they'd burn in hell.

 

[Siyahamba]

Was it always this way? 'Cause I don't remember encountering it this often like I don't know 6 years a go.

No, it wasn't, and yes, it has gotten worse.

Ironically Prince was one of the first artists to embrace the Internet in the 90s. Maybe when he says the Internet is dead, he means the Internet as we knew it is dead.

 

[Lucilla]

the anonymity gives people a license to be mean and rude.

this.


Also the internet could be a very dangerous place.
And about what Prince said, I think the internet is just beginning.

 

[MusicMan26]

I think the Internet as a whole has gotten worse. Everywhere you look there are ads and every video clip has a commerical before it starts. And people will say that things like that are needed to keep the websites up. My response to that is that the Internet survived the 90's and a bit after without them.

 

[Krshna28]

There's also way too many viruses, trojans and spyware that's everywhere on the internet.........

There was a time when you never needed a firewall but the internet is now riddled with cyber-criminals!!!

 

[SheilaMJFan4Ever]

No, it wasn't, and yes, it has gotten worse.

Ironically Prince was one of the first artists to embrace the Internet in the 90s. Maybe when he says the Internet is dead, he means the Internet as we knew it is dead.

People misunderstand Prince almost as much as they did Michael, it seems. I'm a fan of them both and yes, Prince was referring to the early years of the internet being dead, not the internet itself. There is much more intolerance spewed online and the ease of doing so takes the absurdity to a whole different level. Even when you're trying to engage in a civil discussion with people that like the same thing (i.e. Michael Jackson) the conversation can turn hateful if you don't fall in line and think the same way as the majority. I've personally experienced such intolerance on another MJ board, having my fanship questioned and I've been a fan since they debuted with Motown, LOL!

Prince was right.

 

[Severus Snape]

I'd say the things you cite are proof that the Internet is more alive than ever before. Of course, people's brains do not think of the Internet as the "real" world, and often partake in activities they wouldn't otherwise engage in. The virtual world skews people's view of reality--it is a different reality on its own. People are not quite used to the concept of non-tangible reality being part of their everyday lives, but the day has come, and it's time to adapt.

Examples of people underestimating the reality of the Internet and the very real risks which come with the privilege to surf are varied. One of the most obvious examples of internet ignorance can be found in people who post racy pictures of themselves or post content which could prove to be compromising (i.e. underage drinking, drug use, and the like). They think it's safe because it's not tangible content, but that's what makes it even more dangerous... It can be duplicated ad infinitum, and distributed en masse in a matter of seconds, as opposed to actual photographs, which would have to be passed out "by hand." Compromising content could make its way, in the best case, to parents and friends, and in the worst of cases, to school authorities, college admission staff, potential/actual employers, or even law enforcement authorities.

Similarly, people will gain confidence behind the shelter of a computer screen and say offensive/hurtful things or make threats because they don't have to deal with the other person's reaction. If such a person has any understanding of the concept of empathy, seeing the other person's emotional reaction as a result of their actions would most likely cause guilt, an unpleasant emotion which discourages them from behaving thus in future. However, if that consequence is taken out of the equation, the person's actions seem less "real," and they are more likely to be more vicious than they would be in real life. By the same token, even if some people have no empathy, they do at least fear a consequence if they go around insulting others. For example, one never knows if someone one has insulted is mentally unbalanced. A mentally balanced person might shrug off an insult or give the one-finger salute in return, but someone with a severe mental illness might take out a weapon (or improvise a weapon from whatever happens to be there) and strike some fatal blows in return. Similarly, if someone in non-digital life refers to someone else with a "loaded" word (i.e. slurs), the person at the receiving end of the insult would be (in my honest opinion) more than justified in giving that idiot a good punch in the face. The internet, once again, takes the possibility of rightful consequence away, which is why you get a bunch of idiots (particularly on YouTube) referring to various groups of people with slurs and other unpleasant words.

In other words, the Internet is a trap for the stupid and the naiive, and it is also the veil behind which cowards hide. Tread with caution. My golden rule is: if one wouldn't say it or show it to a stranger on the street, one ought not to divulge it at all.

The internet is still fairly new, and it is constantly changing. Only recently have people started to realize the potential real-life consequences of their digital actions, which is why public service commercials about cyberbullying/sexting/meeting strangers online have been increasing in numbers. I certainly do not remember seeing as many of those "digital world"-related commercials back in, say, 2005. Nowadays, however, they're practically everywhere (at least in the U.S.) and usually air on channels which target young adults, who compose the majority of frequent Internet users and the group of people most likely to underestimate the potential consequences of their actions.

 

[LaNixie]

I think it's communicating in general, but maybe I'm wrong. Internet is not dead IMO, it's more alive than ever. Not saying that's necessarily a good thing, though...