Alessia Tanasă, IX E
One of the never-ending reasons why I lost most of the hope in humanity that I had is the internet, especially social media, and how people behave on these platforms. Regardless of how hard you try to shield yourself from the dark or whatever app you’re using, you’ll still end up coming across the inhuman thing you’ll ever see, whether they’re comments, posts, or messages from strangers, your soul will get scarred at some point in one way or another. What makes my life hard is the constant craving to understand why people act the way they do. It’s like an itch. I always need to know what led this person to be this way. Of course, I never found the answers to these questions, but here’s the conclusion that I reached.
People on the internet aren’t real, and I don’t mean this in a conspiracy theory type of way, what I mean is, that when we are using any social media platform, we shut down parts of personalities, some more than others. You’re behind a screen, under your blanket, behind a closed door, in your house, a place no stranger on the internet will find that easily, and we take advantage of that. No one is watching, subsequently, you can be whoever, share ideas you wouldn’t share in real life, and comment on things you might never speak out about in real life. We have this god-like confidence the moment we pick up our phones(or whatever you use, this is an inclusive space)and it was made to be this way. All of the people you see on the internet are simply a mask of whoever is lying underneath. They’re not real. The internet is a little toy that was given to us so that we could feel in control, and that leads to the need to feel heard. Nevertheless, it’s not reality, it’s the internet, no matter how real it may appear, it’s still not real. A person can comment the most outrageous thing you’ll ever hear, but that person might be a loving grandma who wanted to let her demons that day. A person might post about how they fed 100 stray cats when it’s freezing cold outside, but the same person might go back home and abuse their 5-year-old kid. You never know.
Use the Internet as you wish, but always remember that this screen you are staring at is not reality. Reality is whatever you’re leaning against, your clothes touching your skin, and the oxygen you just stole from a tree, you thief. Therefore, whatever nasty thing you saw or read, just let it go and empty that space for reality!