Say you’re trying to have fun talking about a new movie on the internet, and you happen to find a particularly nasty argument, image, discussion or any other type of message.
Communities for everything under the sun have made their way onto the internet, leading to serious cultural issues regarding mental well-being.
Encountering angry messages and criticisms of your likes or dislikes and being attacked on the basis of trivial or important subjects has become an unfortunate trend on the internet.
Finding toxicity across social media and in various parts of the internet can be attributed to the general level of accessibility.
Hiding the dark side of the internet gets harder when there is so much of it. This is due to mobile devices giving targeted information to people, who offer whatever is on their mind at any time.
For example, when “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi” was released, it created waves of people who harassed and attacked others, including members of the film’s cast such as Kelly Marie Tran, who became the center of racist backlash that drew national attention.
Many of these large communities, like Reddit or other message boards, rely upon people becoming their own moderators for the communities they run. Thus, the internet has large communities that can vary wildly in how they are conducted.
So, when a film as divisive as “The Last Jedi” comes along, conversations can go in wildly different directions with how people handle their reactions to the film on Twitter versus a website like Reddit.
Some message boards are almost virtually free of restrictions containing content that can be considered toxic beyond all measure. Yet, there is still valid discussion to be made on a platform that has such a culture.
Another issue with online forums is anonymity. Although, it also means that platforms that haven’t developed a suitable way of reporting and policing such a policy will undoubtedly run into problems.
Even a large anonymous message board has a way of reporting illegal activities and collecting information on its users in order to enforce those policies.
True anonymity is too chaotic and can lead to detrimental effects that outweigh the good. Dealing with anonymity when discussing topics has to be clarified with the fact that it is the internet and a thick skin has to be had, within reason of course.
There is also the problem of entertainment acting like a factory by pumping out content at such a fast rate that people have grown to be even more critical of time spent on enjoying entertainment.
Fads of the month become regurgitated and exposed at untold levels making people stay within that fad.
This higher bar being placed on entertainment leads to differing value systems and tastes being reflected in a more transparent matter.
Additionally, when a person puts so much stake into a piece of media with it becoming part of their identity, it leads to failure or success for that media being tied to their own reputation.
“The Last Jedi” was one example while another was the chaotic mess that was Cyberpunk 2077, a recent infamous video game launch.
Before it was released, social media was divided on how it would turn out, with many rooting for it to turn out a buggy and unpolished mess while others championed it to be a masterpiece.
In actuality, no one really cares about individual opinions too much but with the advent of social media, fame has become a game in and of itself.
Exploiting the popularity of a piece of media has been a common occurrence as others seek out communities in order to better themselves and gain their own clout.
Knowing where and how information is being discussed regarding popular culture will help in developing a broad understanding of the internet and what can be done for the future.
Having that broad understanding in the first place makes for a great understanding of how entertainment can be improved and enjoyed by all.
