So, why is the internet so weird to begin with? In the internet’s own words, “because the internet is just a reflection of the world.”
Weirdness exists regardless of whether the internet is or isn’t. But since it is a thing, the internet has essentially empowered the weird ones to come out of their shell and to share it with the rest of the world. And accept it too.
By getting a sense of anonymity, weird folks can now use forums, social media and other modes of virtual communication to show what life is like on their end.
So, it was only a matter of time until more or less official communities started forming around this weirdness. It’s places like Reddit, 4chan and others that empower people to be themselves and to find like-minded individuals.
Others in the Quora thread pointed out that the weirdness of people is not just empowered by the internet, but rather amplified. It is these communities that pave the way of how OK weirdness is and so your threshold is pushed forward for how weird(er) you can become. And, honestly, as long as it’s quality weirdness, the internet is all for it.
But, as you might have understood already, the internet isn’t a key factor in people channeling their weirdness. As seen on r/But_Why, a lot of weird things happen in the real world (a.k.a. away from the keyboard) as well.
And then you spin it off into either r/ThanksIHateIt, or r/ThanksILoveIt.
But the ante keeps getting pushed and folks are constantly testing out just how far you can get with your level of weirdness without it entering scary territory.
How would you rate people literally touching eyeballs? Or someone curl-ironing their eyelids? Or banana and fish salad? Not the weirdest things you can see on the internet, but there’s something that just discomforts you inside, right?
So, can you push it further? Always. Should you? It depends.
One of the reasons why weird, gross and scary things are so darned attractive, and thus empowering for those weirding everyone out is simple: evolution.
All that is grotesque and bizarre teaches us of the potential dangers out there, and we can’t help but focus on it, watch its every move, so as to learn how we can defend ourselves against it.
