Why You’re Getting So Angry Online
And how to avoid social media rage.
If you exist in this day and age, chances are you’re on social media. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have become content-sharing machines, where literally anyone with an opinion can post that opinion, and have it be widely disseminated.
That’s not bad on its own. Social media has allowed many formerly voiceless people to gain a platform, share their views, and be heard where otherwise they wouldn’t.
That being said, social media has recently been noted for its tendency to radicalize. What that means is that your opinions get stronger. If you start out anti-Trump, you spend some time on the internet and your feelings are likely to be stronger. If you begin anti-vax, content on the internet will justify your feelings.
One thing I’ve noticed in particular is the tendency to share things you disagree with, too. For example, when Donald Trump tweets something ludicrous, lots of Twitter observers will retweet to their followers, disagreeing vehemently. A certain piece of hate speech that I normally wouldn’t be exposed to, might be shown to me because someone else has shared it with a critical comment attached.
Here’s an example: someone I follow retweeted a Tweet from someone (not the author) posting an article about Donald Trump…
