The Mob

What are the, perhaps, unintended effects unleashed by our connectedness? Does anonymity plus connectivity always equal misbehavior and cruelty? How are we to explain some of the collective anger that seems to be unleashed online - and is it a result of the same anger characterizing much of our society's discourse, or is it the cause?

 

Collective anger is not unique to our current society.  Human beings are always upset about something; it is impossible to even consider living in a society where everyone was completely content with everything in their lives.  Utopia, unfortunately, is not real.  This is not news to us.

 

What is unique to our society, however, is the almost astonishing level of online connectedness we have with each other.  The world we live in today makes it possible to voice an opinion as soon as it comes to our heads.  You don't like something?  Take out your anger by punching some keys on your keyboard and just click submit.  

 

On the surface, the connectedness of our society seems positive.  It can be.  It gives everybody, regardless of status, an opportunity to be heard.  The internet does not sensor, discriminate, or exclude.  As long as you're connected, you can say what we want to say.  

 

With all of that being said, should every thought of every person be circulated on the web?  Of course not.  Before blogs, forums, Facebook, and Twitter, there was a certain social status quo for what was appropriate to say publicly.  But since the emergence of online anonymity, that sensor button has disappeared.  This is not good.  We need that sensor button.  Badly.

 

It is said that the best way to handle sending angry emails is to type it, read it, and then delete it.  That process gives you the chance to release some frustration, calm down, and then protect your reputation by not doing something stupid.  Your name would have been attached to that angry, unprofessional, immature note (just look at Cleveland Cavaliers' owner, Dan Gilbert, for an example of that).

 

Now, people don't need to worry about their names being attached to anything they say, resulting in the gradual degradation of personal responsibility.  It seems that societal morals and sense of appropriateness are being forgotten rapidly.  We all have personal stories about cyber-bullying.  When I was in high school, a large amount of people would frequent a website called www.DCSportsFan.com, a venue that reported  about high school sports in the DC area.  Students would post on forums about high school athletes personal lives, academics, and life decisions.    It got to a point that people stopped seeing football and basketball players as their friends or classmates.  They became celebrities, and that's how they were talked about.

 

If we were still required to take responsibility for the words we say, websites such as JuicyCampus never would have taken off.  Of course, rumors would remain prevalent, but I don't know a lot of people who would sign their name on a public internet posting after calling their classmate a "stupid whore" or "dumb bitch."

Connectedness is great.  It makes our society more efficient and more convenient.  Social networking is an outstanding tool to either develop new relationships or maintain old ones.  However, the idea of anonymity makes me horrified about the future. Kids need to learn from an early age the importance of taking personal responsibility for their actions.  If this generation of children continues growing up in this age of anonymity, how can they mature?  We need our societal sensor button back, but I'm afraid it may be disappearing.