Individuals on the Internet and the lack therof

[WelperHelper99]

I'm going to be frank. I hate seeing the word "we". There is this trend on the Internet of collectivism. For example "(insert race) are X", this (group) are bad people, and so on so forth.

No mention of the individual is brought up or their ability to choose. It is just a stream of repeated phrases based on preconceived notions. THE THOUGHT of investigating further into a person's motivations is often discouraged.

As such this leads into the trend of people latching onto groups. They're a gamer, a cosplayer, a Redditor, a Linux user, etc. People don't like standing out due to the discouragement of individualism. People fear being tarred and feathered by standing out.

You see this even with social media personalities. How many back tracks, apology videos, public humiliations have you seen of those that have drifted from the group think. Quite a bit.

Nobody it seems is a individual on the internet anymore unless they actually wish to be and know how to turn the computer off once and a while.

It sickens me. I hate it. It wasn't like this when I was younger. This is not the "dead internet theory" btw, this is about the social contagion that has castrated the ability of millions to make the statement "I think, therefore I am". Any thoughts?

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

We don't know what you're talking about.

 

[C. G. B. Spender]

Are you trying to say there's not enough unique people online?

 

[WelperHelper99]

Are you trying to say there's not enough unique people online?

Basically yeah. I was autistic in my explanation, but that's basically it. It feels like nobody tries to express themselves as a person. Usually they'll defer to authority, the group instead of trying to be... individualistic. Unique if you will.

 

[UERISIMILITUDO]

Well, we know people who do that here run a higher risk of being doxed than people who are more vague, and deferral to a group is an easy way to be vague.

 

[Randy Facalding]

trans bad stalker child gimme upvotes

 

[Sexy Senior Citizen]

We're all bots here.

 

[WelperHelper99]

Well, we know people who do that here run a higher risk of being doxed than people who are more vague, and deferral to a group is an easy way to be vague.

This is true and it's a good reason. But then, you see people on other platforms, they got their name and face out there, completely open book... and they're so boring. Like their account has a couple dozen posts. It's not like these people don't have interests, they'll post pictures or comment on something, but otherwise, they really just exist. No real conversations, nothing really. It's a regression even from that blog era of the Internet.

 

[Aztec Death Squad]

As such this leads into the trend of people latching onto groups. They're a gamer, a cosplayer, a Redditor, a Linux user, etc.

Well, to many people this is the draw of the Internet: being involved in online communities. You don't really get personal websites anymore outside of services like Neocities. Wherever people are encouraged to interact, groups form and members develop a shared identity. There's a movement on places such as Neocities to get back to the tradition of the personal website, but this movement also acknowledges that social media features (even things like follower counts and likes) are an anathema to this end.

You see this even with social media personalities. How many back tracks, apology videos, public humiliations have you seen of those that have drifted from the group think. Quite a bit.

You have algorithms and echo chambers and the homogeneity they produce to thank you for that. Monkey see monkey do on the scale of billions. Again, thanks to social media.

This is true and it's a good reason. But then, you see people on other platforms, they got their name and face out there, completely open book... and they're so boring. Like their account has a couple dozen posts. It's not like these people don't have interests, they'll post pictures or comment on something, but otherwise, they really just exist. No real conversations, nothing really. It's a regression even from that blog era of the Internet.

Most people are boring and have mediocre, unexciting lives. Social media has conditioned people to think the opposite is the case, or, that if you had an interesting life, you would be posting about it nonstop.

You see the trend here?

 

[Ultrapenguin]

Basically yeah. I was autistic in my explanation, but that's basically it. It feels like nobody tries to express themselves as a person. Usually they'll defer to authority, the group instead of trying to be... individualistic. Unique if you will.

If that's the case then online a lot of the issue is depersonalization.

Like even in places where someone has a name and face attached still all they're doing is posting words online. All their reactions and the things they present are premeditated. There's no tone of voice or non-verbal communication, and you're dealing with huge groups of people, presenting to a huge group of people who all tend to have very short attention spans.

That means everyone is encouraged to lean on a lot of codified ideas, both in how they present their thoughts and how they identify.

To be more brief really the internet's just gay nigger crap. This is a really shitty stupid method of communication.

 

[WelperHelper99]

If that's the case then online a lot of the issue is depersonalization.

Like even in places where someone has a name and face attached still all they're doing is posting words online. All their reactions and the things they present are premeditated. There's no tone of voice or non-verbal communication, and you're dealing with huge groups of people, presenting to a huge group of people who all tend to have very short attention spans.

That means everyone tends to lean on a lot of codified ideas, both in how they present their thoughts and how they identify.

To be more brief really the internet's just gay nigger crap. This is a really shitty stupid method of communication imo.

This is more personal than any post on Twitter. None of them would say gay nigger crap even if it wasn't banworthy.

 

[Pedophobe]

You're a lot more likely to get viciously dogpiled for a mildly unpopular opinion online than in real life where people tend to be more polite and circumspect. That probably contributes to not wanting to stand out from the crowd too much, which leads to adopting the group identity.

 

[Grub]

This is true and it's a good reason. But then, you see people on other platforms, they got their name and face out there, completely open book... and they're so boring. Like their account has a couple dozen posts. It's not like these people don't have interests, they'll post pictures or comment on something, but otherwise, they really just exist. No real conversations, nothing really. It's a regression even from that blog era of the Internet.

I don't know if that's a good way to judge it. Personally, I'm more withdrawn and less personally outgoing on a platform like facebook that's tied to my real name and real pictures and real friends and family. I'm fairly well aware of the permanence of things posted online and generally try to stay pretty neutral about most things on those kinds of platforms. Also, at least for me, there's a weird mix of people that includes family, old coworkers and classmates, friends from various different things with various backgrounds and different personalities and I don't necessarily want all those people knowing every single one of my opinions, interests or hobbies. If I do talk on those kinds of websites it's privately or in groups with people who share my interests. I'm always very hyper aware of just how public a site like Facebook or normie social media is any time I post anything on them.

 

[WelperHelper99]

I don't know if that's a good way to judge it. Personally, I'm more withdrawn and less personally outgoing on a platform like facebook that's tied to my real name and real pictures and real friends and family. I'm fairly well aware of the permanence of things posted online and generally try to stay pretty neutral about most things on those kinds of platforms. Also, at least for me, there's a weird mix of people that includes family, old coworkers and classmates, friends from various different things with various backgrounds and different personalities and I don't necessarily want all those people knowing every single one of my opinions, interests or hobbies. If I do talk on those kinds of websites it's privately or in groups with people who share my interests. I'm always very hyper aware of just how public a site like Facebook or normie social media is any time I post anything on them.

I think I get that. It's how I post on other sites. Even then, I don't think I care as much as you. Sometimes I just repost something because it's funny and I'm just a anon, im not that attached to the account, i can always burn it down if i need to.

I find even that is something a lot of people don't do though when they have a complete shield of anonymity. Its... sad really. I don't remember this as a kid. I remember people talking more. I think it's the move to social media like @Aztec Death Squad suggests. The Lego message boards were more lively than Twitter, and those literally were for children. It feels like nobody on these platforms wants to talk anymore. It just makes me sad.

 

[necross]

I think I get that. It's how I post on other sites. Even then, I don't think I care as much as you. Sometimes I just repost something because it's funny and I'm just a anon, im not that attached to the account, i can always burn it down if i need to.

I find even that is something a lot of people don't do though when they have a complete shield of anonymity. Its... sad really. I don't remember this as a kid. I remember people talking more. I think it's the move to social media like @Aztec Death Squad suggests. The Lego message boards were more lively than Twitter, and those literally were for children. It feels like nobody on these platforms wants to talk anymore. It just makes me sad.

I feel you man, the internet has certainly changed and I think there's a solid reason why.
At least from what I remember, the net was sort of an escape you get into from real life — There was clearer divide then than it is now.
Sure, people would post about their day to day on places like Facebook and still do but most folk had enough common sense not to add people they don't know. Also one little thing I noticed is more people shared pics they took in the moment, they didn't plan it ahead to make the perfect post.

Spoiler: PLing a bit

I've seen this in my parents lately and it made me sad when we went on vacation. Instead of it being a nice fun moment to remember my old folk we're too busy holding their phones up to focus on everything else and kept talking about their facebook reels or something. They weren't like this a few years ago.

Nowadays more people are tech savvy but that either makes them VERY careful of what they share because they're aware of how their data works and how it can be traced, even with the promise of anonymity or the newfound accessibility of tech nowadays makes them overshare their life and be brazen about some things they wouldn't dare say to people in person.

I dunno either man, but I think I get what you're saying. Maybe we just got older and meeting people isn't as exciting anymore so everything feels the same but I do think the internet has left consequences on people at large. Not a boomer but I am a little concerned where this road goes...

 

[WelperHelper99]

Snip

Thing is I only feel "older" when I'm on these newer sites like Twitter. The farms isn't like that for me. People still talk here. Even though people are VERY careful here with their identity. I can tell who a poster is anymore just by how they word things. People still live here.

The rest of the internet is a wasteland. It's just for work, for art commissions, ads, literally everything that makes you the product. Everyone has to be perfect when they take a picture. Can't just take one and call it good. Gotta get out that shitty ring light and a million filters. It's fake. No soul.

This KINO from 2008 of the boys playing some Halo in Iraq running off a truck battery? That is peak internet. Literally joining people from worlds apart. This doesn't happen much anymore, these candid shots.

 

[Grub]

Its... sad really. I don't remember this as a kid. I remember people talking more.

I talk to people in person or through text messages or private messaging. I just don't broadcast personal shit for everyone to read. I know a few people who have conversations like that through public comments and I can't understand why they do it. Maybe these people who you see as just existing also tend to talk to people offline. I mean when I was a kid you either went over to see someone to talk to them or called them on the phone. I really had no clue how often people I knew talked to eachother or didn't. I know a lot of people who are still like that. Just because you don't see people talking, doesn't mean they don't talk.

 

[WelperHelper99]

I talk to people in person or through text messages or private messaging. I just don't broadcast personal shit for everyone to read. I know a few people who have conversations like that through public comments and I can't understand why they do it. Maybe these people who you see as just existing also tend to talk to people offline. I mean when I was a kid you either went over to see someone to talk to them or called them on the phone. I really had no clue how often people I knew talked to eachother or didn't. I know a lot of people who are still like that. Just because you don't see people talking, doesn't mean they don't talk.

I mean that probably is what's happening. It just feels weird. I was sold all these social media apps as a "way to find people" and it's like... nobody really wants to be found lol. It's basically a collection of group chats that occasionally leave a comment.

As for comment chains, I always found that fun. Good place to shitpost. Now though they are so censored that you can't really do anything. It just feels like the internet is getting smaller I guess.

 

[Toji Suzuhara]

People, and in particular people who use the internet heavily, have become very atomized during the last decade.

It's small little cliques who only interact with one another when it comes to very specific subjects, that by itself leads to an homogenization of thought, because the same perspective is repeated almost without question "Why is this game bad?" "Well, because my (internet) friends said so and nobody has told me about the possibility that it might be good" "Then why is this other game good?" and they give you the same answer. Back before the internet became public, you had to deal with oppossing perspectives whether you wanted it or not, even if it was only because the kid who had it out for you said so in an attempt to get under your skin, when you don't have to deal with other opinions, you just go along with the group, that's all you know to do, after all. Due to things like that you simply tend to engage in conversation less, as repeating the same thing that you already said with another person who also believes in it in the exact same way is not very productive.

We fast-forward to the early days of the web, say early 90s to late 00s, what was different from those times to now? For one, parents encouraged their children to socialize more with their peers, the usual "Get out of your room and go catch some sunlight!", and also the fact that the internet didn't guide your hand, but that instead you had to go out and look for the things that you wanted to find, such thing made it so that there was a possibility that you might encounter another thing along the way that caught your attention more, that way expanding your horizons.

That's no longer the case. For some time now, all parents do is that they simply give their kids a phone for it to do the parenting for them, phones who will, thanks to the algorithmic nature of the modern internet, show their kids the exact same content, bring them to the exact same communities, and cause them to internalize the exact same opinions in the exact same manner, with zero input from outside agents. Once again, more homogenization of the individual, naturally leading to less discussion and conversation

 

[Frederica Bernkastel]

I just see "we" as a pronoun, and I don't put much thought into it. There's no need to overthink stuff.