Why is the Internet losing its innocence - going from collaboration to hate?

TLDR;

Calling out someone is fine, just try to do it in a way that resonates with collaboration more than hate or directly attacking someone or something. We all have a limited time on this planet, let’s not spend it hating each other. Spread +ve vibes everywhere 🙌🏽

Internet used to be fun and collaborative, the idea was great (and still is) but it seems to have been corrupted over time.

Let’s take talk about something that you know is wrong, it’s not correct. If that’s the case, then you also must know how to solve it, or at least know how to approach the solution, right? How can you call something wrong, but not have a little bit of a solution in place yourself?

Consider a scenario where you are trying to talk about a problem to people on Twitter with your solution in place. Say these are the 2 (very generalized) types of replies you get.

Reply 1

• “Whatever you have done is wrong, this is not how it’s supposed to be, do you even know how to do this?”

Reply 2

• “Hey, have you tried this approach for doing that, I remember it worked for me when I was doing Y, might work for you, would like to know more about the problem you have.”

What do you think the reply to each of these scenarios will be from the original author?

In my opinion, In Reply 1, you will either get blocked or receive the same type of hate speaking in reply. (If you punch me in my face, I WILL punch you back, it’s how humans work, same will happen on an internet exchange.)

Reply 2, however, generates collaborativeness, more context about something, and a chance for a dialogue with the author of the tweet (you), right? Isn’t that….. what’s internet supposed to be?

I understand the need for calling out people, who do wrong stuff, let the law take care of that. But what’s with this cancel culture thing? Not just on Twitter, you can find this on all kinds of modern-day internet, Reddit, LinkedIn, etc.

What happened to us? Did we forget that there are humans behind the screens? Or do we think we become too powerful behind a screen and can change the world?

I came on the internet (or I join social media) to do either of these things: find something interesting to read, connect, or laugh. That’s it.

I don’t come here to attack someone, or something (granted I may have done this unknowingly in the past but not anymore, if you see me doing something like this, send me a DM as a reminder, citing this blog).

How does hate gets generated anyway?

Arguments, petty arguments, and conflicting opinions are a major root cause in my opinion. I mean, take the ways of communication nowadays, for instance (starting from the best to worst).

1. Face-2-Face physical meetup.

   Rarely, anyone will speak harsh words to your face (I am sorry if someone has). This mode is the best form of communication, exchanging ideas, and clearing out any context. That’s why the way you presnet yourself in a physical interview is a thing. Your body langauge, hand movements, eye co-ordination everything communicates.

2. Face-2-Face online chat

   Bit worse than a physical meetup, but still you get to see how a person communicates by looking at their hand movements, and facial emotions. Everything is visible for you to understand someone’s stance on something.

   I know video meets suck, takes energy but is probably the best mode to communicate actively remotely (you can see this by how popular video content is).

3. Phone calls/Audio calls

   The ability to talk to someone and hear their emotions from the way they speak still gives out a lot of context.

4. Text chat

   The worse possible form of “active communication” (not like the passive form, the blog you are currently reading, or an email). This is literally the last possible way you will communicate with someone. You can’t understand emotions (no facial expressions), or the way they sound. On top of that its soo time consuming (imagine explaining someone how git rebase works, or internals of GRPC on whatsapp).
   Just one line of text, and you may offend thousands, with no context, and no background whatsoever. Do you see where I am going with this?

Now of course all modes of communication may give rise to some form of hate, but the ability to do so increases down the line. That’s why being anonymous on the internet and saying the most random shit possible is soo common nowadays.

What to do, If you mistakenly generated hate?

• Apologise.
• Clear out what context you were speaking about.
• Learn how to have sympathy towards other humans, if you don’t have it already.
• If you can’t be supportive, better not interact with someone at all. News Flash: you dont have to talk to people whose ideologies dont match with you.
• Turn off the internet, and go outside.

What to do if you face hate from someone online?

• Ignore, the least you can do. Dealing with people who start with a negative attitude or outlook can be draining and unproductive.
• Report the post, and comment.
• Block/Mute the person.
• Drink water.
• Turn off the internet, and go outside.

Just live and let live!