You're Not My Friend Any More
Right. So, this post here got me thinking about the whole people-being-nasty-to-each-other-on-the-internet thing.
The thing is, people say nasty stuff about each other all the time. It's not restricted to the internet. And yes, some examples are more extreme, so much so that police intervention is required, and I'm not talking about them.
It's hard, but if you're going to survive in the world of the public-access internet - which is a world where everything that anyone says (including you) gets broadcast indiscrimately to the whole fucking planet - it's vital you get perspective and a sense of humour, or you'll drive yourself mad.
Because the internet isn't that different from everyday life. People bitch and snark and complain about each other constantly at work, in their homes, down the pub, on the radio. And you know it happens, and unless you're super-insecure or paranoid you put it out of your mind and don't let it bother you. And that's easy enough, because normally it happens behind closed doors and you don't get to eavesdrop.
On the web you get to listen in on every single fucking conversation people ever have about you, and that's hard to deal with UNTIL you remind yourself that this is what we all do (and I don't believe there's a human being anywhere who doesn't occasionally bitch or whinge about their fellows, in a way that would be hurtful if the target were to overhear or be told of it). It's normal, and the best thing is to ignore it and move on.
Or laugh! Occasionally the snarkiness is funny and astutely observed, and being able to laugh at yourself is an enormously useful skill. Or laugh at the insulters, or at the whole bloomin' situation.
Sometimes a silent deletion of a comment is a judicious move, because it stops other people from wading in and the comments box turning into gang warfare. Sometimes there are extreme examples which require different handling. But try, try really hard, to step back and imagine whether anybody really means you harm, or whether they are being, well, just a bit stupid. And forgetting, like we all do, that the internet is not the same thing as the pub.
___
The thing is, people say nasty stuff about each other all the time. It's not restricted to the internet. And yes, some examples are more extreme, so much so that police intervention is required, and I'm not talking about them.
It's hard, but if you're going to survive in the world of the public-access internet - which is a world where everything that anyone says (including you) gets broadcast indiscrimately to the whole fucking planet - it's vital you get perspective and a sense of humour, or you'll drive yourself mad.
Because the internet isn't that different from everyday life. People bitch and snark and complain about each other constantly at work, in their homes, down the pub, on the radio. And you know it happens, and unless you're super-insecure or paranoid you put it out of your mind and don't let it bother you. And that's easy enough, because normally it happens behind closed doors and you don't get to eavesdrop.
On the web you get to listen in on every single fucking conversation people ever have about you, and that's hard to deal with UNTIL you remind yourself that this is what we all do (and I don't believe there's a human being anywhere who doesn't occasionally bitch or whinge about their fellows, in a way that would be hurtful if the target were to overhear or be told of it). It's normal, and the best thing is to ignore it and move on.
Or laugh! Occasionally the snarkiness is funny and astutely observed, and being able to laugh at yourself is an enormously useful skill. Or laugh at the insulters, or at the whole bloomin' situation.
Sometimes a silent deletion of a comment is a judicious move, because it stops other people from wading in and the comments box turning into gang warfare. Sometimes there are extreme examples which require different handling. But try, try really hard, to step back and imagine whether anybody really means you harm, or whether they are being, well, just a bit stupid. And forgetting, like we all do, that the internet is not the same thing as the pub.
___
Labels: Blogging About Blogging, Philosophisering
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home