This is about you. You, reading this. Yes you. Everyone who used social media, everyone who has ever made a comment. This article is talking to you.
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 and then released to the public through the internet in 1991.
The internet. A never-ending list of networks where you can find a recipe or look at pictures of dogs doing adorable things. But, also a place of darkness and despair.
Throughout the years with the rise of social media people began to belittle each other. I'd imagine at first, people were called out for being rude or obnoxious. But, it happened. A like here, a share there. With each rude comment came a brief stint of popularity. It became a thirst for stardom in front of strangers. The nastier the comment the more likes we'd get.
This has grown to where celebrities and even the News has succumbed to this way of hate for likes era. But, through all this. We lost our empathy. There is no caring to be done about these posts that we see, these comments that pop in the the articles. It's only "What can I say to get the most likes?"
The thing is, I don't think people realize what they are doing. They don't realize that the picture with a name or nickname is actually a real person on the other side. They see 80 year old Myrtle expressing her opinion, only to be made fun of and belittled because her opinion is different, but they don't see that they are verbally assaulting Myrtle, who is actually an 80 year old person. They see bait for likes. They make fun of her name, make fun of her wrinkles, they tell her the most terrible things imaginable and it's okay to them. It's somehow okay to us too as we hit like and join in on this horrendous way of internet life.
We need to stop and actually realize that all these people are real, with real lives. You don't know them and you wouldn't go up to a stranger and say these things to their face. Why say it on the internet?
What if they were depressed and your rude comment was the one to send them off the edge. I mean, it has happened before, mocking death, making a joke of real suicidal threats. A last call for help, only to be mocked:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/8241015/Facebook-friends-mock-suicide-of-woman-who-posted-goodbye-message.html
Over and over we lose touch with others and it's disheartening. We can't keep going on this way. You can go to any page and see this. It's a double life and to some, a double edged sword. We are not ourselves when we post these things. We need to look in the mirror and say no, this is not who we are. Everyone who reads this, go look at your posts and see if that is the way you want to represent yourself to the internet. It's your name, it's your life and it's your comments. Are yours respectful or full of hate?
References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web (for the internet piece)
These comments below were about someone who died in a clothing donation box.
