The Internet Spawns Negativity

The modern age has turned the internet into a necessity in many people's lives. Not only is the internet accessible to everyone within their homes, but technology has evolved to allow portability in our web-browsing.

The internet has allowed for platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook make it easy for people to post what is on their mind and folks suddenly have a voice. Businesses have begun to realize the ease and affordability of online marketing. News outlets bring up to the minute news with a few clicks of a button (and a few strokes of their keyboards).

What does this mean for the modern man and woman?

It means many things, of course. Too many, in fact, to fit into a compact blog post. But the issue I wanted to address today is the issue of negativity on the internet.

Picture courtesy of The Guardian

As a frequent (okay-obsessed) user of the internet, I find myself being subject to scrutiny for spending time on the internet enjoying what I browse. For example, the biggest social media trend at the moment is, arguably, the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness and to campaign for donations to support ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) research.

Picture courtesy of Forbes Blog

What I don't understand is why everyone suddenly finds the need to judge such a successful campaign. Yes, we should not be wasting water. Yes, there are things in the news others feel should be more important than celebrities pouring ice and water on themselves. Yes, we should be donating money instead of trying to opt out by pouring water on ourselves. Yes, people probably didn't know much about ALS nor cared too much about ALS before this campaign brought this disease into the limelight.

These are all valid points, but instead of being amazed at how well the campaign has gone and how much money has been raised for a cause that many people did not previously know about, we have people spreading negativity by judging participants. We have people saying "wow that's stupid, you probably didn't even know what ALS was before this" or "stop participating in the social media fad and just donate if you want to help, selfish attention-seeking fool", amongst other incredible demotivating things.

Instead of focusing so much energy on spreading negativity, why not focus your energies for something positive? Productive? I feel for people who come across as ignorant and uppity.

As one opinionated person to another, I just have a few things to say:

GET OFF YOUR WARRING HIGH HORSE.

THERE IS ALREADY TOO MUCH NEGATIVITY IN THE WORLD.
DON'T BE A FACILITATOR OF HATE.

So tell me, has our society become so used to having an opinion and having an accessible platform to express it? Does negativity and hate have to be a part of this agenda? What can we do about this?