Posted by Orin Kerr:
Web Hate:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_12_14-2008_12_20.shtml#1229381121
Over at [1]The American Conservative, Freddy Gray comments on how
often Internet comments are nasty and over the top:
[A] disturbingly high number of people who comment . . . under web
articles are mad and nasty and best ignored. Look around the web:
it is often astonishing to see the levels of hatred and viciousness
that the most harmless words can engender. The Internet places none
of society�s constraints upon its users, so webman resorts to his
default human setting: outright, depraved hostility. It�s quite
scary when you think about it.
I think there are two somewhat distinct factors at play here. Gray
notes one that is widely understood, that the usual social constraints
are gone. If you're anonymous, you don't have to fear people will
judge you for being an ass.
I think there's a second factor that is less often noted, but that
is also important: The web brings people into close contact with other
people that they don't actually know, and it's much easier to be nasty
to someone you don't personally know than someone you do. Most of us
connect with people we meet in real life. The personal meeting
humanizes the other person. They smile at us; we smile at them; we all
feel a bit more together than before. Online, most exchanges are among
people who haven't met each other in person, and who are therefore
unusually inclined to envision the worst in others and are more likely
to be nasty to them.
Hat tip: [2]Arkady
References
1. http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/12/10/web-hate/
2. http://volokh.com/posts/1229290087.shtml#503014
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