Has the Internet become less fun and too angry?

[Thirteen]

Apologies for the slightly odd title but I've been thinking recently about how I don't enjoy using social media and forums as much as I used to and part of that is because people have become too aggressive and opinionated and while I respect that everyone's entitled to an opinion, it's getting to the point where I wonder if perhaps I need to spend less time on using them.

Does anyone feel the same or am I just becoming old?

 

[Busaholic]

Has it ever been fun, even when novel?!

 

[nlogax]

Has it ever been fun, even when novel?!

It absolutely was fun. Though when it was new to me (1993-1994 ish) social media was obviously not a thing.

 

[Broucek]

Apologies for the slightly odd title but I've been thinking recently about how I don't enjoy using social media and forums as much as I used to and part of that is because people have become too aggressive and opinionated and while I respect that everyone's entitled to an opinion, it's getting to the point where I wonder if perhaps I need to spend less time on using them.

Does anyone feel the same or am I just becoming old?

The business models for social media AND news media are predicated on anger, conflict and fear. It's not a bug it's a feature... This forum is one of the most pleasant I belong to with most people being curious and respectful of contrary opinions and just the odd numpty who can readily be blocked.

 

[Bletchleyite]

One thing I would say has changed is Twitter. It's now a collection of echo chambers for people of increasingly polarised views (one most notable one is cyclists vs drivers), with moderates hated by all. It's incredibly useful for customer services, but I'm strongly considering removing all my following other than TOCs and similar and just using it as a content feed for rail disruptions and the likes.

 

[Broucek]

One thing I would say has changed is Twitter. It's now a collection of echo chambers for people of increasingly polarised views (one most notable one is cyclists vs drivers), with moderates hated by all.

And yet, I suspect most people (who are far too sensible to weigh in) recognise that the truth sits somewhere between those poles (not necessarily equidistant, of course).

 

[richa2002]

I don't think much has changed on forums, since day dot, discussions have always been more robust compared to reality. The wonders of being behind a screen and keyboard! The brevity of social media seems to have taken this to the extreme though. So much so that any kind of sensible discussion on those platforms is almost impossible to find.

 

[Thirteen]

One thing I would say has changed is Twitter. It's now a collection of echo chambers for people of increasingly polarised views (one most notable one is cyclists vs drivers), with moderates hated by all. It's incredibly useful for customer services, but I'm strongly considering removing all my following other than TOCs and similar and just using it as a content feed for rail disruptions and the likes.

Twitter is one of their areas where I'm convinced people just follow people who make them angry which isn't healthy. I generally don't follow people who go on about politics all the time, it's good to be engaged with the news but sometimes you need to enjoy the fun aspects of life and switch off from the anger.

 

[WelshBluebird]

I think it has always been like that to be honest, just maybe for some groups of people it was more obvious than for others, and the whole social media algorithm fun has just made that more visible to everyone.
As an example, how female gamers are treated has basically been a meme for years because of how awful it often was.

 

[baz962]

I literally uninstalled Twitter two days ago. If they aren't angry spiteful or laughing at a person's misfortune, they are complete conspiracy theorists. I'm praying for those people on that sub , but there are people on a Facebook post that is on my feed that are laughing about it. Social media has its uses , but it really seems to attract the nutjobs and everything in between. I am only on Facebook and only because I keep one platform for people who I have lost contact with and this forum. Other than that I can increasingly do without it.

 

[MikeWM]

I miss the internet of the mid 90s, but even then some of the newsgroups could be quite feisty.

--

Twitter is one of their areas where I'm convinced people just follow people who make them angry which isn't healthy. I generally don't follow people who go on about politics all the time, it's good to be engaged with the news but sometimes you need to enjoy the fun aspects of life and switch off from the anger.

Alternatively people just follow people they agree with politically, which isn't terribly healthy either. I've certainly fallen into that trap, so I've tried to branch out a bit recently and also follow accounts that post interesting historical videos, maps, facts, that kind of thing. It breaks up the politics quite nicely.

--

The business models for social media AND news media are predicated on anger, conflict and fear. It's not a bug it's a feature... This forum is one of the most pleasant I belong to with most people being curious and respectful of contrary opinions and just the odd numpty who can readily be blocked.

Yes to all that. As an obvious example, we had far better and well-mannered discussions and debates on covid matters here than anywhere else I experienced.

 

[nlogax]

I think it has always been like that to be honest, just maybe for some groups of people it was more obvious than for others, and the whole social media algorithm fun has just made that more visible to everyone.

The root of some of the grim behaviours you see on social media can be traced back to Usenet flamewars* the best part of thirty years ago and then in traditional forums shortly afterwards. The difference between then and now being of course the blast radius for such drama was confined to its own medium and lacking the massive shared reach of social media. The internet was never a pristine place to be but it did used to be a much nicer place to hang out on.


*there's a word I'd almost completely forgotten

 

[Thirteen]

Alternatively people just follow people they agree with politically, which isn't terribly healthy either. I've certainly fallen into that trap, so I've tried to branch out a bit recently and also follow accounts that post interesting historical videos, maps, facts, that kind of thing. It breaks up the politics quite nicely.

Or just follow people who are fun and positive.

I admit I've started muting people who use social media to complain to companies and making it obvious by putting a dot in front of the @ so it appears in your timeline, I get they're annoyed but don't do it every day.

 

[Greenheart]

Yes but it's also reflected in real life. People are a lot less tolerant now imo and less respectful of difference, especially regarding opinions. This is at least in part fuelled by the media eager to divide people up into various different (and largely illusory) tribes of left/right wing, brexit/remain, ethnicity etc etc.

 

[Purple Train]

Yes but it's also reflected in real life. People are a lot less tolerant now imo and less respectful of difference, especially regarding opinions. This is at least in part fuelled by the media eager to divide people up into various different (and largely illusory) tribes of left/right wing, brexit/remain, ethnicity etc etc.

I was typing out something that was aiming for something similar, but you've put it very well: 100% agreed.

 

[Broucek]

Or just follow people who are fun and positive.

Yes, one of my friends was upset by the result of the last election and said, "If you voted Conservative* please unfriend me".

*43.6% of the popular vote

So I did

 

[birchesgreen]

I think the main difference now is the amount and type of people using the net. When i started going online waaaaaay back in 1992 the only people using the net were academics and students on the whole, so if someone got really angry it didn't really matter. Now you have the most powerful people in the world s***posting online.

 

[dosxuk]

The absolute best thing about the modern internet, is how it's trivial for anybody to find a bunch of people with similar interests.

The absolute worst thing about the modern internet, is how it's trivial for anybody to find a bunch of people with similar interests.

In the past, people holding controversial or contrary opinions, or having interest in marginal subjects, would often find themselves questioning themselves because they would struggle to find anyone else who agreed with them. Nowadays, they just jump on twitter, do a quick search, and suddenly find a whole bunch of other people confirming their thoughts. Where alternatives used to be presented though coherent arguments and evidence, nowadays they are presented in the form of "look, other people know this too".

 

[75A]

I was typing out something that was aiming for something similar, but you've put it very well: 100% agreed.

Me too.

I first got involved with Computers @ work in the mid 90's and spent 5 or 6 years introducing them to staff. In those days they could only access work related sites and everything was sweetness and light.
in the early 00's the company allowed staff (and their families) to have general access to the big bad world (now using Laptops).
Boy was that a mistake, only surpassed in the early teens when they gave everyone an iphone as well.

 

[westv]

All one ever needs is RailUK forums.

 

[Trackman]

I use the modern internet just like a modern TV, I just tune into things I want to see.

All one ever needs is RailUK forums.

I've been on and still on a few forums, but this one is very well run and it's not just 'all railways'

 

[Broucek]

In the past, people holding controversial or contrary opinions, or having interest in marginal subjects, would often find themselves questioning themselves because they would struggle to find anyone else who agreed with them. Nowadays, they just jump on twitter, do a quick search, and suddenly find a whole bunch of other people confirming their thoughts. Where alternatives used to be presented though coherent arguments and evidence, nowadays they are presented in the form of "look, other people know this too".

Whilst the dreaded "mainstream media" is pretty awful (particularly with anything that requires numerical or other technical / specialist understanding) the non-mainstream media is a thousand times worse (well, at least 99% of it...)

 

[yorkie]

Apologies for the slightly odd title but I've been thinking recently about how I don't enjoy using social media and forums as much as I used to and part of that is because people have become too aggressive and opinionated and while I respect that everyone's entitled to an opinion, it's getting to the point where I wonder if perhaps I need to spend less time on using them.

Does anyone feel the same or am I just becoming old?

The internet is just a medium really; it's the infrastructure. Like the 'printed press', one website/app/publication can be completely different to another.

So the questions really are: have the sites/apps you use changed? Or have you changed which sites/apps you use?

You will never have universal agreement regarding what makes a good platform; some people will want something that others would say is not to their liking.

 

[nw1]

One thing I would say has changed is Twitter. It's now a collection of echo chambers for people of increasingly polarised views (one most notable one is cyclists vs drivers), with moderates hated by all. It's incredibly useful for customer services, but I'm strongly considering removing all my following other than TOCs and similar and just using it as a content feed for rail disruptions and the likes.

I've noticed this regarding some elements of the left, sadly, on Twitter (and I say this as someone who is definitely more left than right!)

There are people on the left having a go at the Labour Party for various minor "sins" (mostly not being Momentum-ist enough) and also having a go at soft-left pro-EU types, plus of course the Lib Dems. Meantime, they say very little against right-wing Tories such as Anderson and Braverman, maybe because they share the same kind of inflexible authoritarian view of the world as those two.

Talk about the Judean People's Front.

Yes but it's also reflected in real life. People are a lot less tolerant now imo and less respectful of difference, especially regarding opinions. This is at least in part fuelled by the media eager to divide people up into various different (and largely illusory) tribes of left/right wing, brexit/remain, ethnicity etc etc.

I think at least part of this comes from the fact that we are, perhaps now more than ever, led by politicians who don't want to listen to people with different views to themselves, and can even indulge in public petty-name calling (Braverman and her "tofu-eating woke" nonsense).

While it not be an ideal situation, it's easy to understand why people feel angry, argumentative and resentful if the country is being led by a Government who does not appear to care about people "like them".

 

[Iskra]

I generally avoid discussing politics on Twitter, because it can get pretty nasty pretty quickly as there is usually a complete lack of toleration towards anyone expressing competing views, even fairly bland/reasonable ones.

I don’t think the internet has got less fun though, I think you probably need to re-consider where you’re visiting if you think that.

Some of the most toxic places are online gaming areas like COD or War Thunder etc, some people get way too deep down those rabbit holes.

 

[PGAT]

The internet is massive. There are always going to be nice places, and toxic places, it just depends where you look

 

[Darandio]

The root of some of the grim behaviours you see on social media can be traced back to Usenet flamewars* the best part of thirty years ago and then in traditional forums shortly afterwards. The difference between then and now being of course the blast radius for such drama was confined to its own medium and lacking the massive shared reach of social media. The internet was never a pristine place to be but it did used to be a much nicer place to hang out on.


*there's a word I'd almost completely forgotten

Memories. Gave rise to some other words back then as well, 'crapflooding' being one which later became 's**tposting'.

The internet might seem angry now but there's just more of it. Even back then is was volatile.

 

[Yew]

So the questions really are: have the sites/apps you use changed? Or have you changed which sites/apps you use?

I find that social media is a lot more advertisement heavy, algorithm driven, and seems to suggest random threads my friends have commented on, rather than what they have chosen to share with me. I think all of these make it signifiantly worse - I used to enjoy late-2000's social media, but now I mainly use it as a messaging service.

 

[Bevan Price]

This forum is probably the closest approach to social media that I have ever used. I never used anything like Twitbook as they always seemed to want too much personal information, and I have zero interest in the activities / opinions of so-called "celebrities" - also I have better things to do with my time.....

 

[alex397]

. As an obvious example, we had far better and well-mannered discussions and debates on covid matters here than anywhere else I experienced.

Hmm, I’m really not so sure of that myself. That section of the forum was best avoided.