The internet is somehow a bad-good(good-bad)influence

[mariwan]

What i realize is that people are easily influenced by other people. For expample say Arsehole A. is talking with Internet Newb. Now internet Newb asks things like "what does 'lol' mean? what does 'rofl' mean?" Arsehole A. replies it means laugh out loud and rolling on the floor you dumbarse. Internet Newb thought he was just unfiendly and moves to another place. Now another person comes along which is Arsehole B. and Internet Newb starts to chat with him. Arsehole B. begins talking like "Huh?! this is the internet biach i dont give a dang about what your saying go suck on ur mommas milky. As soon as Arsehole B. goes away Internet Newb comes to a realization,"so this is the internet huh? i thought it would be friendlier..." soon after he gradually changes his real personality to a different one. He started to chat things similar to those people he met.

^
The above story is a fictional one but it might also be a reality.

So basically my rant is about how some people get influenced easily on the internet. Like how some people would ignore you when your talking to them, or like how some people would act rudely and cocky towards people who dont understand much. So because of how that person was treated his view on the internet will change and cause him to find a way cope up with those kinds of situations. He might start rebelling and say things like "your an Arsehole you know that?" or whatever comes to mind.

Thats if for this rant but i feel like i left out something so feel free to post.

[omegapirate2k]

Thank you, Mariwan, for this compelling tale of rage, betrayal, and most important, a boy becoming a man.

[ABDUR101]

...you do realise your 'idea' could easily be attributed to real life aswell, right? Thats why you have people who steal and are major dickheads, guys who grow up beating women(because they grew up accustomed to it), etc. It's just a different medium; the internet, but the same shit happens.

It's no different than starting school, or living in a bad neighborhood, or a bad homelife; you just get accustomed to it and think "this must be the way things are" and act accordingly.

[Fleur-de-Lis]

This is a complex subject which many have tried to explain. Since I'm at work I can't say much but...

Humans are social animals; we depend on one another for survival. To increase our rate of success, we've developed ways in which we interact in order to understand one anothers' action and intent. Language, facial cues, and empathy are some of the personal aspects of this, but there are shared aspects such as morality, justice, and community. In a virtual space such as the Internet, all of this shit goes out the window.

I can't explain why, but I feel there are a number of related factors.

Isolation; there is no physical connection to other users, so there is no need to develop relationships based the type of intimacy we have with true friends. You cannot "watch someone's back", so to speak, and thus trust is difficult to build.

Anonymity; without speech or non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, it's difficult to gauge someone's intent, so we cannot know whether or not they are a dandger to us.

Impunity; without the ability to punish transgressors, there is nothing to stop an individual from enacting any sort of seflish action, within the limits of the system.

But, the key factors in my opinion are human fear and laziness. When coupled with the above, and the young age of many users, the innate human desire for comraderie, which takes time and effort to cultivate, gives way to me-first-ism on a whole new level.

Anyway, that's just a start on my feelings regarding this. It seems your post has posited the question of, "where did we learn to behave like this." It's a good question that I couldn't begin to address.