Ever wanted to experience what “hell” was like?
You’re in luck.
Welcome to the internet, where the dismantling of others’ lives is the norm.
We’ve all seen the “internet safety” videos that schools play to students.
Cyberbullying was one of the major points of internet safety in these videos, and for a good reason. The internet has always had a reputation of being a cesspit of toxicity. Internet safety is to ensure you don’t get caught in the crossfire.
Some claim that the internet has gotten better over the years due to a change of demographics and laws, however, nothing has really changed. Toxic users will always come back, either on new social media sites, forums, or new accounts. They’re almost impossible to purge, and they won’t stop either.
An anonymous user on 4Chan, an infamous imageboard site, described how the internet worked through the “Rules of the Internet,” a loose series of unserious rules that list how the internet functions.
In this case, our focus will be on the mention of “Anonymous.”
- We are Anonymous
- Anonymous is legion
- Anonymous never forgives
- Anonymous can be a horrible, senseless, uncaring monster
- Anonymous is still able to deliver
Taken from: https://archive.org/stream/RulesOfTheInternet/RulesOfTheInternet..txt
Despite being a satirical list of rules, there certainly is some merit to it.
Today, this theme of anonymity remains true as ever.
Most notably, the fact that “anonymous can be a horrible, senseless, uncaring monster.”
If one’s true identity is known to no one, then many people believe they have to take no responsibility for what they say. There’s no incentive to care about how the person on the opposite end of the screen feels, either.
As a result, people become so desensitized to cyberbullying that it has become normalized.
Nothing on the internet is safe from mockery unless you run to the dark web, where things remain private.
Otherwise, it’s a free-for-all virtual bloodbath for humanity itself.
Comment sections, screenshots, reshares, quote retweets, anything can be said so long as it escapes a website’s terms of service, and even that has its exceptions. Reporting can only go so far, and much of the toxicity remains visible for all to see.
Take a look at one of the most popular corners of the internet, X .
Case 1: @JaharaJayde’s Twitter post
A woman cosplaying as Frieren from “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.” Nothing was particularly wrong with this post, it was simply a woman dressing up as a character but alas, the internet responds with negativity.
My culture is not your costume to wear. Frieren is an aristocratic, pale skinned elf who hates demons and is studious in the craft of magic. You’re an African😬. Please have some decency.
— Abyssal Aristocrat (@AbyssalTsundere) September 22, 2024
@AbyssalTsundere’s Reply: “My culture is not your costume to wear. Frieren is an aristocratic, pale skinned elf who hates demons and is studious in the craft of magic. You’re an African 😬. Please have some decency.”
Some may claim that this reply was a joke, a mere bait interaction. But there’s no point in throwing away your own dignity for such a comment. If the goal was to make a “dark” humor joke by trampling on another person’s passion, you only made yourself look like an unfunny jerk.
At this point, to even make a “joke” of this extent, you have to be racist to some degree.
Besides, a joke like this isn’t funny, especially if it’s against someone you don’t even know.
And it doesn’t stop here.
Case 2: @IronicnotSavage’s Twitter post
A cute fanart of Hitori Gotoh from “Bocchi the Rock!” She looks adorable in this style, and the artist’s take on what she would look like as a black person is amazing! Yet the internet didn’t seem to agree.
If you didn’t have pronouns in your bio I’d appreciate this as an artwork. But seeing how you do have that sign of being an indoctrinated retard, I am disgusted by your opinion you pose as art.
— Gandeloft (@Gandeloft) September 22, 2024
@Gandeloft’s Reply: “If you didn’t have pronouns in your bio I’d appreciate this as an artwork. But seeing how you do that sign of being an indoctrinated r***rd, I am disgusted by your opinion you pose as art.”
Delete this and reevaluate your life. How dare you attempt to use art as a means of forcing ugliness into the world.
— Abyssal Aristocrat (@AbyssalTsundere) September 22, 2024
@AbyssalTsundere’s Reply: “Delete this and reevaluate your life. How dare you attempt to use art as a means of forcing ugliness into the world.”
Yeah, being a racist, bigoted prick definitely places you in the high ground.
Afterall, users like these use black people as scapegoats. They only see them as subhuman garbage.
It’s such a shame how openly racist people are on the internet, completely unprovoked.
At this point, this shouldn’t be a surprise. No matter what topic, what tragedy happens, people on the internet can and will rip you to shreds. Genocide, suicide, failures, all of these things aren’t safe from mockery. Innocent topics are destined to be corrupted as the popular saying goes, “nothing is pure on the internet.”
It’s like trolls are ensuring these trends are perpetuated, rather than just observing if it happens.
An “internet authority,” of some sort, to enforce the rules of the internet. Someone’s gotta take on the role of a villain, anyways. As if it was a necessity in the first place.
As it is in its current state, the internet is a man-made digital hellscape. Empathy is dead to trashy people and it seems they don’t want to revive it. To them, being a discriminative prick is funny.
In response to all this negativity, some people try to fight back. Some private their accounts, or simply ignore them. And at worst, people commit “digital suicide” to avoid it all. To them, there’s no better way to evade being a target of mockery other than getting rid of your internet presence entirely.
Yet remember, most horrible posts and comments are mere interaction bait. In other words, mindless dopamine drugs for the posters. They’re loud, but not the majority of who’s online.
Some people even snap out of the apathetic trance and realize how rude people are when there’s no responsibility to be held. Few would dare mimic how they act online in real life. Still, it really goes to show how deplorable people can be once the personal aspect of human interaction is stripped from the equation.
Choosing to be a troll only serves you momentary attention. Bigoted jokes are still bigoted. Bait posts are still discriminative. It’s not worth throwing your morals away for a dopamine hit.
Despite the nature of the internet, consequences still apply. It’s not just people hating you for what you say, but rather them holding you accountable. People can try to get away with what they say, but that’s not always the case.
Just as one person rips another apart, karma can come back at them tenfold.
Some people are foolish enough to leave digital footprints. In some cases, people have lost jobs from what they’ve said on the internet. And say goodbye to building a good reputation on the internet. Of course, this is a double-edged sword for both the victim and the perpetrator. Like reality, there’s no preventing someone’s hatred against you.
And as rule 12 of the “Rules of the Internet” states, “Anything you say can and will be used against you.”