Comment by southerndude42 on 25/01/2025 at 21:59 UTC

10 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)

View submission: How awful did people talk pre-social media?

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It's the dehumanizing of each other that has created the disrespect but that is a whole topic in itself.

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Comment by angrymurderhornet at 26/01/2025 at 00:45 UTC

4 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Dehumanization indeed creates disrespect, but disrespect also creates dehumanization. People are malleable that way; if you’re young and impressionable, and think that awfulness is just the way of the world and will get you some social media cred, the constant buzz of hate speech will affect the way you think in private and the way you act in public. The question is which way the impression will go; will that impressionable person join the shrieking, actively oppose it, or just ignore it and wish it would go away?

When the consequences are virtual, then virtual hate can spread like a virus.