does the internet bring the best out of people?

[cacian]

or is it the opposite?
do you feel that perhaps the computer has a negative effect on people and make some come across as non tolerant or is it something prominent in some and the internet is the facilitator rather then the ignition to frustrated or unpleasant behaviour?

please discuss.

[PeterL]

or is it the opposite?
do you feel that perhaps the computer has a negative effect on people and make some come across as non tolerant or is it something prominent in some and the internet is the facilitator rather then the ignition to frustrated or unpleasant behaviour?

please discuss.

It might be that it allows people to just be more of what they are, whether that is good or bad depends on the individual.

Are you asking this, because you drove me to write verse, even though i don't usually like to, or what. Which way do you lean on this question?

[cacian]

It might be that it allows people to just be more of what they are, whether that is good or bad depends on the individual.

Are you asking this, because you drove me to write verse, even though i don't usually like to, or what. Which way do you lean on this question?

no not at all I am asking in general because some internet users may come across very different to what they are in real life and some are the same.
I was wondering how people felt in general about how the internet affect them one way or another :)
here is an article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2008414/Is-internet-bringing-dark-How-technology-changing-personalities--worse.html

[Calidore]

I think the anonymity of the internet has a similar effect to alcohol; it overcomes the barriers people put up and lets them show their true selves. In some cases, it's the same person you would normally see, and in others, it's a better or a worse one.

[PeterL]

no not at all I am asking in general because some internet users may come across very different to what they are in real life and some are the same.
I was wondering how people felt in general about how the internet affect them one way or another :)
here is an article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2008414/Is-internet-bringing-dark-How-technology-changing-personalities--worse.html

Thanks for the link. I think that some people act differently online, but it's hard to tell, because the people I know are pretty much the same online or off. Even so the internet allows people to blow off steam anonymously, and I would guess that many people do that once in a while.

I would guess that you mostly agree with the article. Or am I mistaken?

[cacian]

Thanks for the link. I think that some people act differently online, but it's hard to tell, because the people I know are pretty much the same online or off. Even so the internet allows people to blow off steam anonymously, and I would guess that many people do that once in a while.

I would guess that you mostly agree with the article. Or am I mistaken?

I do not all entirely agree with is because it generalises rather then rationalise. it is the minority that takes over and therefore the article is not representative of everyone. I am no sure I agree the interent brings out the dark side so to speak but more enable us to think we can be different and when we try we come cross as totally different to what we normally are.
calidore mentioned the idea of anonymity I think that is one thing that does allow for other new personalities to spurge out without us being aware of it. not being able to see ourselves or hear ourselves converse tend overshadow this allusion that we are unstoppable. the computer is something very new in the human communication concept and therefore not very understood yet in this sense.
it is not the dark side but more the misinformed or the misguided side that brings out these new internet challenges. they are not impossible to challenge is what I am trying to say.

[PeterL]

I do not all entirely agree with is because it generalises rather then rationalise. it is the minority that takes over and therefore the article is not representative of everyone. I am no sure I agree the interent brings out the dark side so to speak but more enable us to think we can be different and when we try we come cross as totally different to what we normally are.
calidore mentioned the idea of anonymity I think that is one thing that does allow for other new personalities to spurge out without us being aware of it. not being able to see ourselves or hear ourselves converse tend overshadow this allusion that we are unstoppable. the computer is something very new in the human communication concept and therefore not very understood yet in this sense.

I agree that the online communication is still new. For that matter, widespread literacy is still new, and we can't really tell where that will lead either, and that 's after a couple hundred years with the global literacy rate over twenty-five percent.


it is not the dark side but more the misinformed or the misguided side that brings out these new internet challenges. they are not impossible to challenge is what I am trying to say.

Sometimes it is the playful side. There is one site where I go that seems to have many people who believe conspiracy theories. It is humorous, because the ideas expressed are often humorous. And I believe that many things are posted there just for that effect.

[Frostball]

I think the internet has the potential to bring very bad things out of people, particularly during disagreements. The reason is because when you're talking to somebody over the internet, you don't actually see the person. It's similar to road rage. Many people who are generally very nice and mild mannered can say truly awful things to anonymous people on the road. Both with road rage, and on the internet, it's because you're insulated and anonymous. You're in your own little bubble where you aren't experiencing the other person's reactions, facial expressions, or emotions first hand in real time.

I've had arguments with friends or family members over facebook, for example, and it has gotten incredibly nasty and vicious, far more than I had ever experienced with them during real world interactions with them. People can get very easily carried away in internet arguments; I'm definitely no exception, either.

Not everybody is affected the same way by this. Some people are good at keeping perspective and keeping a level head, and some people aren't. I wouldn't say that the internet brings the worst out of people, necessarily, but it does have the potential to bring out some very ugly things.