The only way to detoxify the internet, is to get rid of the "social" aspect. Starting with gasp comments. My online experience has been that much better, since adding comment blockers to my browser.
how about asking kids parents to detoxify their kids than solving the problem way down the chain of command?
People are shitty online because they have anonymity. Now instead of going ahead and removing that, it might be worth going backward even more and going to the person.
people need to be nice on the internet. The internet does not need to be nice to people. Detoxifying internet is no different than censorship. I can say this with certainty that as soon as we ask companies and governments to detoxify, it will get misused [un]intentionally.
Because of this, I virtually never comment on anything on the internet. I am genuinely disgusted at the comments on most sites and want no part of it. It is not just a waste of time, it can also rot your soul. Besides the small handful of posts here on HackerNews, I honestly cannot remember the last time I wrote anything online at all.
I suggest all of you do the same. You might find you are much better off, like I did. To be clear - by all means READ blogs and sites and stay informed. Just steer clear of the comments section. Vote at the ballot box and with your wallet. Not with your keyboard.
Just like the real world, you are influenced by the environment and people around you.
What made my online life more pleasant was cutting out the social media I have no hard need for.
The remaining ones I specifically follow only those who post informative/funny/educational stuff.
Any poster with opinions (especially involving politics) are blocked/muted instantly.
My internet journey started with getting into long protracted arguments with others online.
Eventually I started to type out comments, give them a read, and decide that either nothing would come of the conversation/argument, or worse, I would find myself in a flame war. I'd just delete the comment and move on.
It's been years since I've really written anything substantial online. Simply not worth it these days.
Good analogy, the internet is entirely deinstitutionalized, but even worse, because:
a) people are more likely to have gumption to be negative in the absence of social cues of another person in their presence (global effect, whether or not user is mentally ill)
b) those motivated and possessing time to post are more likely to be suffering from issues (where those not mentally ill may just not engage because they have other things going on in life)
c) unlike the physical space where filters exist, you're often exposed to these people when navigating to entirely innocuous content (e.g. a kids video).
d) way way easier to find people with same or adjacent point of view on internet, reinforcing beliefs and potentially driving person further to extremes
Problem needs to be addressed from multiple fronts - as you say, more control for end users to tweak their experience (top down), alongside better platform-level filtering (bottom up), along with all the helpful designs therein like good defaults.
> What I have come to feel is that my use of the internet is mostly driven by rage - and it seems to be similar for a lot of people. On HN I waste time trying to correct people who will never in a million years be swayed by a random internet comment.
This, a million times. I've blocked a few websites (e.g. Reddit) because I kept being drawn into pointless comments and debates.
You can say the same thing about the internet. Avoid the toxic sites. Go to the good sites. But you'd have a hard time arguing that the internet isn't a useful tool.
The great thing about the internet is that it has really democratized public speech. The terrible thing about the internet is that it turns out people suck, and nobody wants democratic public speech.
On a related note, one of the iron laws of Eternal September is that it's impossible to socialize everyone. Raising awareness will likely make you feel better, but it will in no way staunch the flow of unprovoked vileness on the internet.
That's actually how you kill the internet. This won't change people's minds. They'll still think all those "offensive" things. They just won't post them publicly anymore because of the social consequences. You'll never know what people are really thinking.
I prefer to know. I want to experience the full spectrum of humanity.
somewhere underneath all of this vulgarity, i see your point and it's quite interesting. really wonder whether the whole "block" attitude is actually detrimental. never really thought about it that way, and have always imagined it is the only way to "be" on the internet. but maybe something better exists, but nobody imaginative or powerful enough has yet uncovered it. thanks for your POV.
Like the other poster, I've spent my entire adolescence on internet forums. I can't say they negatively affect me either (as anything other than noise). In general all the mean comments I've received have been lazy, contradictory and eventually you see these comments as a indicator that you've "won" as the other commenters are now "salty".
One thing I can say it has affected me is I tend not to get into arguments over subjects I don't care about - online and off. Years of arguing online about inane subjects and logging in the next day to see your opponent's views have gone unchanged makes you realize how much time and energy you waste getting mad at things on the internet - there are far for effective ways to change the world.
Even though I've spent probably entire years of my life reading comments, I am of the camp that most comments aren't even worth the silicon they are stored on. However, there are a lot of diamonds in the ash.
I understand, however, that this experience might be much different on non-anonymous/social platforms like Twitter and Facebook where it may seem like the attacks are personal, but I'm not popular enough to have this experience.
The reply next yours says the same thing without the toxic feel that makes the internet a slightly worse place for everyone. Go out in that big world and find something that makes you a happier person.
What a naive, ignorant, and condescending viewpoint. "the internet turned into shit", give me a break. If anything on the internet is shit, it's your comment.
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