Has the internet made people less kind?

THE advent of the internet has brought the world and the whole of humanity closer in many ways, in what has been termed the global village.

In many ways, it has adversely affected human behaviour and personal interaction that creates a layer of distance that encourages people to shed their inhibitions and act differently than they would during comparable face-to-face encounters.

In many instances, the internet has become a platform where poor social habits are on display because the relaxed rules in cyberspace do not mesh with social expectations in the real world. It has become an instrument where, on many occasions, people sound curt, superficial, insensitive or even cruel.

Cyberbullying in a global domain has led to digital communication abuses, discarding and demolishing net etiquette or what the experts call “netiquette”.

Kindness and civility are non-existent as behavioural patterns within the realms of the global village. Research clearly indicates that with the spread of the internet, we are becoming less social.

We have become “anti-social”, glued to our devices, and lacking inter-personal skills. Social media is making us less social, contributing to higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of well-being.

It is well known that the internet and its numerous platforms are associated with declines in participants’ communication with family members in the household, declines in the size of their social circle, and increases their depression and loneliness, resulting in unkindness and aggressive behaviour.

Social media has changed the trajectory of humanity’s relationship with fellow beings.

Unkindness has been the most profound change.

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni