Has the internet killed human compassion?

[LiquidMidnight]

Originally Posted by michael_atw

The internet just reveals how disgusting and stupid people REALLY are. That's what I tell my female friends when they use online dating, Facebook, Tumblr, and other social media.

I was just on Yahoo! news about 2 hours ago reading about the Syrian death count estimates. They say 60,000, more than a few comments were people joyfully proclaiming, "That's 60,000 less Muslims".

The internet is a great destroyer. I always say it affirms the intelligent and reinforces the ignorant. Sadly, others in other countries are reading these ignorant, disgusting, demented comments and attributing it to the average American.

That being said, DO NOT take them at any value. They are value-less. Don't let them ruin your compassion. I've thought about closing myself off to as much internet as possible in order to wash myself of the stench.

This.

For the record, TB seems to be much higher than the average Internet user in terms of quality thought. That's why I've been here for over 12 years. I haven't stayed this long on any other forum during my tenure on the Internet.

[HaMMerHeD]

There may be little or no compassion on the internet, but as far as I can tell, it hasn't affected compassion and decency in real life.

[michael_atw]

Originally Posted by slobake

Yup, and the best way to take any power away from big mouthed louts is to ignore them.

I just try to avoid getting sucked into the black holes. Forum comment sections are the worst black holes. Social media has other black holes. It is quite hard.

[fdeck]

It's the "Internet Tough Guy" phenomenon, which I think is related to the authoritarian submissive personality type. It's rare here, but we do have a few TB'ers who seem to only crawl out of the woodwork to preen their unassailable persona while attacking anybody who admits to a problem or weakness.

Why is it successful? From the standpoint of rational debate, I think it's a logical fallacy that hasn't been recognized as such. The antidote is critical reasoning.

[slobake]

Originally Posted by fdeck

It's the "Internet Tough Guy" phenomenon, which I think is related to the authoritarian submissive personality type. It's rare here, but we do have a few TB'ers who seem to only crawl out of the woodwork to preen their unassailable persona while attacking anybody who admits to a problem or weakness.

Why is it successful? From the standpoint of rational debate, I think it's a logical fallacy that hasn't been recognized as such. The antidote is critical reasoning.

Most of the time critical reasoning is a good thing, with some people it is a waste of time.

[Big Brother]

Has the internet killed human compassion?

Who cares.

[Ziltoid]

Originally Posted by Big Brother

Has the internet killed human compassion?

Who cares.

Who cares, here have some

[Big Brother]

Originally Posted by Ziltoid

Who cares, here have some

It may have killed human compassion but it's been a Godsend for lulz.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Easier for jerks to pass judgement on everyone.

... especially idiots.

[BassDoc51]

It's definitely made it easier for people to act tough without risk of getting sodcked in the pork trap.

[Relic]

And yet a paradox exists... statistically speaking, we live in the safest, most secure time in human history.
How is it that we're losing our humanity, yet at the same time seemingly gaining it?

[Kenzy]

Originally Posted by fourstringdrums

Or have people always been the same, but because people can take what they would have normally been thinking to themselves and now express it with a relative degree of anonymity, that we are just now seeing people for how they really are?

This. And the fact that this is just what we're used to, we can't really compare current...conditions?.. of human compassion with those that existed previously, with much accuracy, for the most part, because we didn't actually witness it firsthand. But some thoughts that come to mind are slave-lynching, treatment of Native Americans, and Nazism. Yeah, people have always been this way, now we're just far more effective at letting everyone know we're ********. Now excuse me while I go comment on someone else's bad news.

[eyeballkid]

the internet is part of Skynet.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by Relic

And yet a paradox exists... statistically speaking, we live in the safest, most secure time in human history.
How is it that we're losing our humanity, yet at the same time seemingly gaining it?

Its no paradox... only one of those statements can be true. My dollar is on the latter.

Originally Posted by eyeballkid

the internet is part of Skynet.

the internet is a lie

[Relic]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Its no paradox... only one of those statements can be true. My dollar is on the latter.

I would tend to agree. I should have typed it a bit differently to better get my intention across.

[Sgt. Rock]

Originally Posted by Phil Smith

These days????

They bought, sold and brutalized people in this country for a couple of hundred years. Do you think there was more compassion then than there is now?

Not just here, but all over the world. We live in what is arguably the most compassionate time in human history.

[DwaynieAD]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Rock

Not just here, but all over the world. We live in what is arguably the most compassionate time in human history.

As long as you're not on the internet.

[Sgt. Rock]

Originally Posted by DwaynieAD

As long as you're not on the internet.

The Internet is a pretend world. Actions are what matter.

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by Sgt. Rock

The Internet is a pretend world. Actions are what matter.

The internet is the simulated world!

[dozicusmaximus]

Originally Posted by Relic

And yet a paradox exists... statistically speaking, we live in the safest, most secure time in human history.
How is it that we're losing our humanity, yet at the same time seemingly gaining it?

Mind blown.
Isn't that a paradox?

It's only a matter of time before Wall-e or Idiocracy....