Why are so many people jerks on the internet?

[lxskllr]

I think we got it backwards... I think the internet shows peoples true faces. Or put another way, people only act nicer than they really are in the world because of fear of consequences and lack of anonymity.

If you see someone or something you don't like... you already have a reason. In real life you refrain from doing anything and restrain yourself. So the fact that you don't on the internet is a true showing of a persons real personality IMO.

I'd tweak that explanation slightly, and say that people are freer to openly debate online. If you get too pissed, you can just logoff, and come back another time. Being able to openly debate in an argumentative way gives more opportunity for truth to prevail. No politics, no diplomacy, just debate.

That doesn't explain the real assholes. I'm sure there's 10,000 different reasons for that.

I suppose I said the same thing you did, but put a more positive spin on it. Arguments aren't inherently bad, even heated arguments. It's a good oulet, without having to deal with much of the bullshit of real life.

 

[HAL9000]

1.

 

[Kirby]

Because you touch yourself at night.

 

[zanejohnson]

never understood it either i think mostly it's a self esteem issue..i personally refuse to attack people online or anywhere ,mostly because it fucks with my karma. i treat people the way i would like to be treated.

 

[zanejohnson]

it took me a long time and life lessons to realize how important acting kindly to everyone at all times really is.

 

[shortylickens]

HELLO!

:awe:

 

[IronWing]

In my case, it was my poor upbringing.

 

[Snock514]

I trolled once.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'd like this to be a relatively serious thread. I know what most of the popular answers are going to be already.

1. No fear of consequences.
2. Taking out the problems of their life anonymously.
3. They're jerks in real life.

The 3 places I see it most prevalent are:

OT forums.
Online gaming.
Comment sections of articles/youtube/etc

My question is more philosophical than anything. What makes people choose to act that way, given generally 2 choices? Act like a jerk/argue or act like a decent human being.

I would think that if acting that way made someone feel better about themselves (although superficial), wouldn't it just feel as good, if not better, to act kind and decent to people online?

So what makes so many people choose that route?

Even on here I see lots and lots of threads making fun of others in fairly hateful ways.

Any thoughts besides the obvious? Thanks.

I make fun of people in playful ways. If you don't like it I'll kick you in the nuts! :|

 

[Joseph F]

If that's the case, then the more likely answer is that most humans are inherently evil. I guess that could be it, but that's sad.

This. I truly believe that all people are Evil at some core level.

 

[ShawnD1]

What a weird thread.


People say stupid shit on the internet because people are more aggressively negative than they are aggressively positive. If the waiter at Red Lobster is nice, you might tell 1 person that it was a nice experience. If the service was horrible, you'll tell every person you meet and you'll post it on every forum you know.

To get the most communication from the most people, you need to make people angry.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Yes.
Yes.
Probably not.

 

[alkemyst]

It's not that I am a jerk, it's that I am better than you.

 

[SandEagle]

he's not so bad. There are plenty worse on here.

Plus he can take a load like a champ.

probably because he's bi :awe:

yeah, never understood why people think its ok to act like jerks online. grow up people.

 

[HAL9000]

he's not so bad. There are plenty worse on here.

Plus he can take a load like a champ.

I can confirm these statements.

 

[IronWing]

No one has a gun on the internet.

 

[shortylickens]

No one has a gun on the internet.

Back in the early AOL days you could force kick people if you knew how.

FUN TIMES!

 

[Ruptga]

In society, people are decent because they would otherwise be opting out of society's benefits. With anonymity people can start over entirely without too much effort, and, short of an epic screw-up, internet problems don't cause real-life problems. Therefore, they really only have habit or laziness as incentives for good behavior.

 

[Wyndru]

HELLO!

:awe:

 

[Born2bwire]

It's probably because they're English.

 

[Numenorean]

 

[Gigantopithecus]

No one has a gun on the internet.

I came to post the Heinlein quote "an armed society is a polite society."

 

[God Mode]

Physical and mental illness from a sedentary lifestyle of sitting in front of a pc all day. The socially active people I know IRL tend to be themselves while the pasty geek friends are total shitheads online.

TLDR: assholes on the internet need to get laid.

 

[shortylickens]

Physical and mental illness from a sedentary lifestyle of sitting in front of a pc all day. The socially active people I know IRL tend to be themselves while the pasty geek friends are total shitheads online.

TLDR: assholes on the internet need to get laid.

Thats probably true.
Way back in the good old days when I got poon I never posted angry shit on forums.

 

[moshquerade]

Also in real life, if you think someone is a dickscarf, you could just not talk to them or include them to be a part of your life.

Online, like forums, you're often in a community where you can't really choose to just not include them in your community. They're going to be posting and you're often going to be reading their posts whether you like em or not.

This x 100

Physical and mental illness from a sedentary lifestyle of sitting in front of a pc all day. The socially active people I know IRL tend to be themselves while the pasty geek friends are total shitheads online.

TLDR: assholes on the internet need to get laid.

This too.

anonymity. it's so obvious. are you dumb?

This, minus the "are you dumb?" part.

Because you touch yourself at night.

Probably the main reason.



You guys came up with some good answers for the OP.