It's fair to say future historians have their work cut out for them when they try to decipher exactly what went on with the internet of the early decades in the 21st century. Everything from the birth of social media to "memespeak" to whatever we were all doing with Tik Tok during quarantine will definitely many to reconsider their profession uncovering the past. What will stand out most, however, might be the transfer of internet attitudes to real-world actions.
The things we took off our computers, off our phones, that became real, will certainly raise a few eyelids in due time. For now, though, we can only hope people soon outgrow these kinds of toxic behaviors.
Reddit user, u/InsomniacNimrod, wanted to hear:
What toxic behaviour has been normalised by the internet?
How Dare You Attack Caffeine?
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Blaming your a--hole behavior on:
- a lack of caffeine
- the phases of the moon or the alignment of the planets/stars
Who You Are Online And Offline
Family members trying to maintain a certain "image" to project to the world. When my brother in law married 2 years ago, my husband's family was all about trying to please the bride and force the image that they were a nice and traditional family (my in laws have been divorced for years and it's far from friendly).
Everything had to be perfect to show everyone on social media outlets. They definitely didn't like me because I don't really play into the whole "be happy for the 'Gram" image. I was 9 months pregnant at their engagement party and was so uncomfortable being anywhere far from the hospital in case I went into labor. But I had to be there, otherwise it would be awkward to explain why my husband was there alone in the pictures.
Should Definitely Not Be An Insult Anymore
Calling people gay if they do something unusual or different.
This mostly happens at school and it really p-sses me off every time I see it happen to someone.
Don't Get On People For What They Want To Do
Well, I think one thing that is utterly stupid and is being normalized is making people believe in imaginary timelines of what their life must look like at 16 or 18 or 20 or 25. This is basically doing nothing but robbing people of their self confidence and pushing them off track or maybe in an endless spiral of depression.
We must understand the fact. When we buy an electronic item or even a cloth it comes with some instructions. None of us are born with any manual on "How to Live your Life". Therefore chuck the notion of comparing your lives with others. They did this, they have been to this country, they are earning this much, they bought this Car and blah blah blah blah.
A Different Belief Is Not An Attack On Your Belief
Attacking someone for a belief that differs from yours
And then justify by stating your personal points against that belief. As if your belief is superior.
Are You Talking Or Bragging?
Bragging about bad mental health.
If it will help in removing some of the stigma associated with mental illness, I'd probably be OK with it
Part of it removes the stigma, but part of it turns mental illness into a trend, a bludgeon with which to use against others, and a pissing contest. For every thoughtful internet discussion on mental illness I see, or for every person using humor to cope, I see 10 people excusing someone's bad behavior because "well they might have depression or anxiety." Or someone screaming over someone else because their diagnosis is greater than yours.
Not to mention the armchair diagnosing, and the fact that while some mental illnesses have been destigmatized to the point of being fashionable, others are still very much stigmatized and used as a flippant way to completely write off human beings.
On reddit, it's cool to have depression and anxiety, but NPD, BPD, and bipolar are just excuses to cut others down (in addition to being way overstated and armchair diagnosed. Your mom being a b-tch once in a while isn't indicative that she is "a narcissist" and needs to be involuntarily committed). There's also a lot of misinformation and old wives' tales circulated about the "acceptable" diagnoses, too.
It's One Moment In A Large Internet History
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Mob mentality.
Couple this with bandwagoning, and we have thousands upon thousands of strangers who would hunt people down over a questionable tweet, sending death threats and making them lose their jobs.
Like wew.
How pathetic and empty does someone's life have to be to send death threats over a f-cking tweet?
Do It Because It's Good, Not Because It'll Get You Points
Doing a small favour or good deed for someone, but recording it and posting it on multiple social media platforms. This type of behaviour has been a factor (one of many factors ) in me ending a couple of friendships.
Whatever happed to helping a little old lady cross the street without having a pathological need to display it to the whole world.
Understand Why You Say Things The Way You Do
Political correctness and idealism over realism/pragmatism. People are more interested in "sounding correct" than actually being logically correct these days. People are concerned how their statements will be received by "the tribe".
I can come up with a million stupid comments and posts that are nonsense but would get thousands of upvotes.
Just Go Check Yourself In Under A Bridge
Trolling. So trolling, which kinda came with meme culture, can be humorous and entertaining, but always at another persons expense. Which is like bullying in a way. I understand that it looks way more mild mannered in comparison, but it can be harmful. Any form of bullying can be harmful. And the internet is a catalyst for these types of things.
You don't see who you're interacting with and what's going on on the other side of that screen, how that person is being affected ya know? Trolling is the focal point of many memes and jokes nowadays, so people do it without even thinking about it. So it's super normalized to me.
You Have To Give People A Chance To Grow
Probably a lack of a chance for redemption. People can get fired for some one-time joke they tweeted 6 years earlier that got dug up once they were in the spotlight. They could have easily changed in those 6 years but their record is ruined permanently.
And then there are people who put their real picture on Reddit and set their real name as username, those people blow my mind.
To Worry About Everything Is To Worry About Nothing
Expecting everyone to be perfectly aware of every single thing that's happening in the world at once. Also, not being able to make mistakes.
Between school, work, working out, and trying to enjoy what little free time I have, I don't get to keep up with everything going on in the world - and people will give me sh-t like, "How do you not know this?" Sorry I don't spend every minute of my life on social media.
Exactly. Plus, not only is it absurd to expect people to know everything that's going on in the world, it's also unhealthy. The constant stream of bad news is awful for our mental health. Trying to keep up with everything is like a recipe for depression, really.
Start There. Move On Past It.
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Using social media for information instead of doing research.
And the complete lack of backing down from bad information. The lack of apologizing or changing direction when you learn something new. People share falsifications, learn it was wrong information and do nothing...no apology, no clarification.
^By far and large, this.
Fact checking? Critical thinking? Straying from the echo chambers and flood of disinformation on social media?
"lol, this meme hit my trigger point, so I'm going to spread this as though it's fact. I don't really care if it is true or not, only that it matches my cognitive dissonance."
F-ck!
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/