{"id":47,"date":"2012-10-09T08:00:20","date_gmt":"2012-10-09T14:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/?p=47"},"modified":"2012-10-09T08:04:29","modified_gmt":"2012-10-09T14:04:29","slug":"why-are-we-so-mean-on-facebook-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2012\/10\/why-are-we-so-mean-on-facebook-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are we so mean on Facebook?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

We\u2019ve all seen them. We\u2019ve probably even participated in them. I\u2019m referring to those conversations on Facebook, often about politics or religion, that quickly turn ugly as people begin sniping and snarking at each other. (And it\u2019s not just on Facebook: have you seen a YouTube comments section recently?)<\/p>\n

Why are we so mean on Facebook? Why do seemingly innocuous posts quickly get ugly, and why are people so quick to fan the flames? Why are we willing to\u00a0jeopardize\u00a0real-life\u00a0friendships\u00a0through our on-line conversations? Believe it or not, it\u2019s because Facebook causes you to act like you\u2019re drunk \u2014 so says a soon-to-be released study<\/a> by\u00a0professors at Columbia University and the University of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Most of us present an enhanced image of ourselves on Facebook. This positive image\u2014and the encouragement we get, in the form of \u201clikes\u201d\u2014boosts our self-esteem. And when we have an inflated sense of self, we tend to exhibit poor self-control.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink of it as a licensing effect: You feel good about yourself so you feel a sense of entitlement,\u201d says Keith Wilcox, assistant professor of marketing at Columbia Business School and co-author of the study. \u201cAnd you want to protect that enhanced view, which might be why people are lashing out so strongly at others who don\u2019t share their opinions.\u201d These types of behavior\u2014poor self control, inflated sense of self\u2014\u201dare often displayed by people impaired by alcohol,\u201d he adds.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sherry Turkle, a psychologist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, adds that we feel fewer inhibitions on-line because we simply can\u2019t see the reactions that our speech causes. This makes it easier to dehumanize one another, especially when we\u2019re posting on our bright, shiny smartphones.<\/p>\n

Astoundingly, Dr. Turkle says, many people still forget that they\u2019re speaking out loud when they communicate online. Especially when posting from a smartphone, \u201cyou are publishing but you don\u2019t feel like you are,\u201d she says. \u201cSo what if you say \u2018I hate you\u2019 on this tiny little thing? It\u2019s like a toy. It doesn\u2019t feel consequential.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s also the feeling of online\u00a0anonymity, which makes us feel invincible as we toss out our snark. (Nevermind the fact that you\u2019re nowhere near as anonymous on a site like Facebook as you think you are.)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve certainly had the temptation to push an online discussion a bit further than I should, to try and get in the one last verbal jab to prove that I\u2019m right, witty, intelligent, etc. Why? Because at the heart of it, I\u2019m arrogant, proud, and self-righteous. In those times, what would be truly best and most edifying would be to take a deep breath, delete what I\u2019ve typed, and just walk away. My words should always be seasoned with grace \u2014 even if I\u2019m engaged in a spirited debate about some hot-button topic \u2014 and that holds true just as much for the words that I type as the words that I say\u2026 and perhaps even moreso.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why do seemingly innocuous posts quickly get ugly, and why are people so quick to fan the flames?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1223,"featured_media":25081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1484,18],"tags":[4,5],"class_list":["post-47","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ofthemoment","category-technology","tag-facebook","tag-internet"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy are we so mean on Facebook?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why do seemingly innocuous posts quickly get ugly, and why are people so quick to fan the flames?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christandpopculture\/2012\/10\/why-are-we-so-mean-on-facebook-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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