The internet is neither a force for good or a tool of evil. It just is.
This.
I quoted your paraphrased quote to my partner, who was all "Because we totally don't do that anyway." Most people have learned to put on masks and personae in order to deal with the rest of the world. The way you act around your parents is different from the way you act around your friends - they're both you, essentially, just different facets.
But yeah, I think that mindset, that the internet is somehow a dangerous place full of stalkers, pedophiles, and creepy old men who just want in your pants, comes from the overabundance of news on such things. But you can do that with anything: if the news only reports crimes that happen at night, then people are going to start thinking that the nighttime is really dangerous, not really taking into account that the news isn't reporting the non-events (ie, the times at night when crimes aren't taking place). That's what's happening with the internet - people hear about all these horrible things happening via the internet and they simply jump to conclusions that the internet is a dangerous place. Add on top of that the people who wrongly base virtue on looks and assume that if you can't see their face, you can't know if they're a bad person, or that somehow it's easier to parade around as someone you're not. And yeah, some people may find it easier to be a liar on the internet, but those same people are also probably liars offline, too.
I'm in the same boat as you - most people I've met online have been more honest versions of the people they are offline. My partner even admitted that if he'd met me offline, he'd be terrified to speak to me, but he had no problem with it online. It was probably the only way we could have met, barring some intervention on a mutual friend's part. For him and people like him who have social anxiety problems, the internet is a great way to exercise being social without the consequence of, say, the person you're talking to witnessing you have a panic attack. (Not to mention it's the only way I'm saying so much on this subject, despite barely having talked to you :P) Plus, it allows tiny minority groups to find each other more easily and find solidarity. The only reason I learned about what was wrong with my head was because of the internet, and without it, I'd still be a confused wreck, wildly unhappy with my life and everyone in it.
There is just as much good in the internet as there is bad, just like there are as many good people as there are bad. It's a balance. And with something that is completely and utterly dependent on the people who contribute to it, it is nothing more than a reflection of the human race as a whole. And you cannot definitively say that the human race is all bad or all good. The same thing goes for the internet.
And I'm sorry for writing so much - that quote rubs me the wrong way, too, and...I get fairly verbose about things that rub me the wrong way xD;;
no subject
This.
I quoted your paraphrased quote to my partner, who was all "Because we totally don't do that anyway." Most people have learned to put on masks and personae in order to deal with the rest of the world. The way you act around your parents is different from the way you act around your friends - they're both you, essentially, just different facets.
But yeah, I think that mindset, that the internet is somehow a dangerous place full of stalkers, pedophiles, and creepy old men who just want in your pants, comes from the overabundance of news on such things. But you can do that with anything: if the news only reports crimes that happen at night, then people are going to start thinking that the nighttime is really dangerous, not really taking into account that the news isn't reporting the non-events (ie, the times at night when crimes aren't taking place). That's what's happening with the internet - people hear about all these horrible things happening via the internet and they simply jump to conclusions that the internet is a dangerous place. Add on top of that the people who wrongly base virtue on looks and assume that if you can't see their face, you can't know if they're a bad person, or that somehow it's easier to parade around as someone you're not. And yeah, some people may find it easier to be a liar on the internet, but those same people are also probably liars offline, too.
I'm in the same boat as you - most people I've met online have been more honest versions of the people they are offline. My partner even admitted that if he'd met me offline, he'd be terrified to speak to me, but he had no problem with it online. It was probably the only way we could have met, barring some intervention on a mutual friend's part. For him and people like him who have social anxiety problems, the internet is a great way to exercise being social without the consequence of, say, the person you're talking to witnessing you have a panic attack. (Not to mention it's the only way I'm saying so much on this subject, despite barely having talked to you :P) Plus, it allows tiny minority groups to find each other more easily and find solidarity. The only reason I learned about what was wrong with my head was because of the internet, and without it, I'd still be a confused wreck, wildly unhappy with my life and everyone in it.
There is just as much good in the internet as there is bad, just like there are as many good people as there are bad. It's a balance. And with something that is completely and utterly dependent on the people who contribute to it, it is nothing more than a reflection of the human race as a whole. And you cannot definitively say that the human race is all bad or all good. The same thing goes for the internet.
And I'm sorry for writing so much - that quote rubs me the wrong way, too, and...I get fairly verbose about things that rub me the wrong way xD;;