Receiving hate online is weirdly "tolerated" as an inevitable consequence of existing online, and that's sick. amirite?

When people point out the internet is not the real world they mean it figuratively. They're saying you are interacting with complete strangers who have an absurdly small statistical chance of ever actually impacting your life outside of whatever random internet interaction you just had. And while it does afford people to say absolutely horrid things to each other it's always going to be a potential outcome when there are no real consequences for it. People should be mindful of the fact that they are talking to other thinking, feeling human beings; but there's a huge laundry list of evils in the world that you can say the same about; the potential for harm with online interaction is probably the lowest of the lot. The reality is, with a few clicks of a button anyone disappears from my view online and those people were never going to be involved in my offline life anyway.

by NorthPuzzleheaded 1 week ago

Thing is, people mean radically different things even when they say the same thing. Thats what you mean when you say it. Thats what a lot of people mean. But there is no universal "This is what people mean by this". Not anymore. Which is why we should maybe say what we actually mean instead of relying on short hands that not everyone agrees on in the first place. I know. Something else that isnt gonna happen. Its great how we've all collectively committed to being misunderstood on a regular basis because were to stubborn to say what we mean. Its great lol

by GladCaterpillar 1 week ago

I mean... ok, there is not 100% consensus on what people mean; but the thrust of what I am saying is that's generally what people mean when they say that; because the chances anything that happens on the internet ever actually effects you not on the internet are almost zero.

by NorthPuzzleheaded 1 week ago

Sure. If we ignore everyone who doesnt agree with your consensus. And if ignore everyone whos ever been affected by what they encountered online. Like there isnt 10 seasons of catfish. Like people havnt fallen for cults or scams a plenty. Like online dating never resulted in a single marriage, hook up or childbirth. Like social media bullying hasnt resulted in documented depression amongst the children. and suicides. If we just ignore all the ways in which things that happen online affect peoples real lives... Then sure.

by GladCaterpillar 1 week ago

Ok fine. Mostly not real. Listen to yourself. Do you think this rant will last in either of our minds for more than a couple of minutes? That's mostly everything that'll ever happen on the internet.

by Stunning-Ad 1 week ago

Not everyone is like you and uses their brain as a freeway for information. Some people try and learn from their experiences, or like, remember them? Listen to yourself, what are you fighting for right now?

by GladCaterpillar 1 week ago

Entertainment.

by Stunning-Ad 1 week ago

You're pretending that you don't understand that human beings speaking face-to-face with one another and people anonymously communicating with one another using computers as an intermediary are fundamentally different, and I'm not sure why you're doing this

by sfarrell 1 week ago

Does this change if I'm using social media with names and faces of people I known? A big part of your point seems to be that it's anonymous.

by Savings-Today-9415 1 week ago

touch grass

by Whole-Twist-397 1 week ago

"The internet is not the real world. It's just talk." 100%. In real life it usually gets shut down pretty quick if someone is acting wildly offensive or harassing people just to get a reaction. The "edgy" 14 year old definitely isn't acting that way in the street.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

People online are assholes.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

They need to be bleached.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Anonymity is 100% a big part of the cause. Most people are socially aware enough to know that acting like an asshole makes the people around them think a certain type of way about them, but if no one knows who they are then who cares?

by Ok_Patience94 1 week ago

"Lol, just close your eyes, bruh" is only a useful attitude when it's something minor, like someone being mean to you on Facebook. But if you're being cyberstalked, hacked, doxxed, mobbed by internet vigilantes, or if people are spreading malicious rumors about you . . . you can't ignore all of that. I speak from experience. Exactly. You'd be surprised how many people think negative Internet interactions are just limited to "u smell lol ;)"

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Hate shouldn't be shot randomly on the internet. We all agree here. I don't think you should speak for everybody and speaking for myself I disagree I hate the MAGA crowd and I don't have to pretend and be nice about it. I can say outright on the Internet that I hate them. The flipside of that is they can do the same to me and that's fine too.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Maybe it will be a conciliation that haters are dealing with issues which negatively affect them in their lives which non-haters are free from.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

The thing about hate is that it usually comes from a much deeper place, and it's justified in the context of a person's life. For example, let's say I draw a picture of a cute dog, but you have a traumatic childhood memory of getting attacked by a similar dog. You're gonna hate my picture, and you might not even necessarily fully understand why. Under normal circumstances, we likely wouldn't connect. If we did, I'd get to know you, and I'd learn that you don't like dogs, so I wouldn't show you my picture of a dog. But on the internet, all that interpersonal stuff is either muted or gone. I don't know that you hate dogs, and you don't know that I don't want to unearth your trauma. So you're a lot more likely to get angry at me. To be clear, I'm saying the feeling of anger is justified, but I'm not saying directing it at me is necessarily justified. We all have baggage, and it's important to let ourselves have the emotions we have, but it's also important we manage our actions so we're not inflicting our baggage on other people unnecessarily. Point is, it's an artifact of the intersection between human nature and the internet. There's not much we can really do about it, without also dramatically hampering what makes the internet such a powerful tool. It's not something we should be happy about, but acceptance is the only thing that can really be done about it. If you accept that some people are probably gonna freak out about anything you put on the internet, it's easier to not take it too personally.

by TrainingCommon 1 week ago

Add this to the pile of displaced aggression that is so prevalent in our current world...

by Townepedro 1 week ago

It's life/accepted because people generally suck and will gleefully attack others when they're protected by being anonymous. There's nothing that can be done, these people and their opinion don't actually matter, etc.

by Runolfssonbo 1 week ago

Those claiming "if you don't like hate don't use social media" are the same ones who say "You were assaulted? What were you wearing?". Buddy...What? No. People tell you to live with it because there isnt a real solution to it not because its acceptable behavior. Its rarely treated as such in most spaces. And everyones go to with hate is to be harder on it. Hate comes from a place of pain. We all know this. Its been proven time and time again that the only cure for hate is love. Most of us just dont have it in us to love someone who hates us. Its a big ask. But it IS the solution. So maybe next time you see someone hating, be the adult, take the high road, and try and ease some of that pain they are spreading, even though we also all know that any attempt at that is likely to be met with some more hate. If you are not willing to drench yourself in mud helping someone out of it, don't look down upon them from your highroad.

by GladCaterpillar 1 week ago

And you know who's been affected by all of the online hate? Only people with EXTREMELY weak mindsets. If a strangers opinion or "hate" on the internet impacts you in anyway beyond moving on from it, you have much bigger problems than the hate you're receiving anyway.

by Hageneselton 1 week ago

This is the truth, I learned this as a teen with a 14.4 kbps connection. If you take the internet too seriously then you will hate it

by Fun-Analyst 1 week ago

Its acepted because thats jist how the internet is. You cant change others behaviour, only your own. In this case you learn to live with it and ignore it

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I hope you have a mildly bad day

by Anonymous 1 week ago

i'd gladly take hate over censorship any day; this just tells me your brain remains underdeveloped until god knows when; such a disgrace to humanity the palliative society is

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Yeah it's like "grow up and get over it, it's the internet" like that makes it ok!!

by Alive_Part 1 week ago

On the net, people feel comfortable saying things they just wouldn't say to someone's face in the real world.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Im in favor of full freedomof speech rights (protected speech), it acts as a "safety valve" for society. If you engage in the public forum, be prepared. Everyone has a right to their opinion- even the most vile. It's the acting on stuff, physically that becomes an issue. Short of calls to arms or violence- it should all remain protected. Debate it all out in the marketplace of ideas.

by Marques04 1 week ago

In a world where being binary is frowned upon, online rhetoric is very binary.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

i see you have never been a woman or visible minority just existing publicly on the internet ...

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I wouldn't say it's tolerated. People just shrug their shoulders and keep moving which is what you should do. Don't even engage trolls.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

Don't use social media

by Some_Shirt 1 week ago

It's not sick. It's human. Welcome. Mayberry isn't real honey. I hear you though.

by Anonymous 1 week ago

I think you're grossly exaggerating the level of "hate" you claim to see.

by Glum_Programmer 1 week ago

Just close your eyes

by Andre60 1 week ago

Ok weirdo

by ychristiansen 1 week ago