A Mean Society

by Elizabeth Lemuz

Today’s society is controversial in many different ways. People aren’t very kind with their words or actions like they used to be, or at least seemed to be. We have now, not only a physical world, but an online one as well. The Internet has grown so quickly that it seems like it has taken over the world. I think at this point it actually may have.

I believe that society is now taking advantage of the online world that has been introduced to us. I think before the Internet, people were nasty to each other in different ways. Now because of the freedom of the online world, it is easier to express one’s opinion without having to say it directly at someone like it has been done many times before.

One example is the Civil Rights Era from 1954-1971. There was so much chaos in America during this time and people showed the way that they felt by protesting. People still protest today the way that it was done before, but they can also do protesting online. The Internet wasn’t created until the early 90s but it began being developed around 1962 according to the Computer History Museum website. People during this important time period were awful to each other because of all the segregation in America. If the Internet was a thing during this time period, the web would be exploding with many tweets on Twitter, posts on Facebook, hateful images and comments on Instagram, and much more on social media outlets.

A recent example in modern history of the public being hateful in society is toward the President of the United States. There have always been hateful comments on social media toward the president, because the Internet allows people to do this. We are all aware that we can voice our opinions and we decide to do it.

Bullying has always been an issue and now it has grown to become something even bigger now and it’s called cyberbullying. According to an article “What is Cyberbullying?” on Stopbullying.gov, cyberbullying “is bullying that takes place using electronic devices”. People use the online world to hurt others behind a screen.

I do think that society is taking advantage of the ability to express what they have always felt. It’s a lot easier today to do it without any real consequences. Our society is a lot more open to new things and the online world has taught us that. I don’t believe that society has become meaner, I think that they have finally decided to speak up and share those mean thoughts.

Citations:

“Internet History”. Computer History Museum. Computer History Museum, 2004. Web. 10 April 2015. http://www.computerhistory.org/internet_history/

“What is Cyberbullying?”. Stopbullying.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d. Web. 13 April 2015. http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html