The internet: you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Between those cat pictures, funny videos, and touching stories lies all of the hate, all of the trolling, all of the people who can't spell or punctuate for beans, all the crap. There are many trends you may have noticed while surfing the web, and a number of them need to die. Here are my Top Six:
6. Spoiling
Whether they are people commenting on what happened in a recently released movie, giving away a game's final boss in their crappy Let's Play video thumbnails, or live tweeting a premier of anything, they ruin the surprise for everyone. Even Facebook with its useless Trending section does it: "THIS JUST IN, SO AND SO CONFIRMED IN EPISODE 88 AS SO AND SO'S SECRET BROTHER THAT NO ONE KNEW ABOUT!" right there in the headlines. Shut the hell up. Seriously. I don't want to know. This was all especially prevalent with "The Force Awakens" coming out in theaters, from people commenting on random YouTube videos about what happens to kids on Miiverse posting about it. Luckily, I stayed away from the computer for a bit before I saw the movie, so nothing was ruined for me. But yeah, don't be that guy who spoils anything. It's not cool. Sure, we spoiler-free guys can be annoying about it, but come on. We wouldn't have to be so stingy if there weren't people giving away everything. Also, to all you spoiler-free fellows, if you see a link that may have something to do with what you haven't witnessed, DON'T CLICK IT.
5. Complaining about Change
"Oh, all Pokemon after Gen. 1 suck! Make remakes without the new ones!"
"Oh, why is the Stormtrooper in "The Force Awakens" black? Change actors!"
"Oh, why did they change the YouTube layout?? Go back to the 20__ style!"
Oh God, get over it.
The internet is a place for people to complain about change. Some change is good, some change is bad. Change exists in movies, TV shows, and video games with new characters, new writers, reboots, pacing, etc. These three areas see a lot of change more than others, and the Internet takes notice of it all. You may like the change or not. It's a matter of opinion. You have the right to say it, as long as it is justified. However, don't go posting online for the companies, directors, or designers to modify their creations the way you want it. There is a good chance they may not listen. You get what you get.
4. Clickbait
Article title: "New Details on Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS. New DLC!"
Me: Oh, I have to see this!
(clicks link)
Article: "New Details on Smash Bros for Wii U and 3DS. New DLC!... Predictions!"
Author: Hey, suckers, wouldn't it be cool if this was in the game? AD. AD. AD. AD...
Me: No.
I've fallen for this crap too many times. Clickbait feeds into your curiosity with titles like "You'll never believe" or "You will be shocked" or "What happens next will blow you away."
You'll never know what it is unless you click it. These writers, or evil robot masterminds bent on world domination, don't care how shocked or blown away you are, or if you even read/watched what they posted. They only want site traffic, shares, money, and clicks. Hell, sometimes the link you click won't even take you to where it promised.
And the ads. My God, the ads. They're everywhere.
So don't give these jerks the benefit of the doubt that you clicked their links. It's a sickness on the Internet; don't spread it.
3. Political correctness
"Oh no, some celebrity made a joke I found offensive. I'm going to complain about it online! Let's pressure them on their Facebook to apologize and never forgive them when they do!"
They say they want progressiveness and peace, and yet, to achieve it, the PC culture will do the opposite to get it; through bullying and pressure. They will stalk and hate on anyone who doesn't agree with their tolerant and accepting views until they cave in. I mean, is it any coincidence that in "South Park's" 19th season, the PC culture as a whole is represented as an abusive, manipulative frat boy who isn't afraid to use violence toward any sign of intolerance?
Yes, there is a lot of bigotry and inequality in the world, but there are less aggressive ways of dealing with it. People get so easily offended on the Internet, whether the person offending was a troll or just joking around. Hell, they will get offended if the joke wasn't directed at anything related to them. They are just looking for something to be offended by. You shouldn't let what someone said online offend you, whether it was a different opinion on a hot topic, a joke not meant to be taken seriously, or just someone trolling. And you really shouldn't spend hours online complaining about nothing. You're just as bad as the trolls. Don't feed the trolls! But, I mean, if something really bothers you, here's a form to help you out.
2. Fishing for likes
Not necessarily talking about selfies or absurdly long Instagram captions. I'm talking about blind support.
"Hey, there was a recent tragedy or disaster? Better go change my profile picture to show my support. Yay, I'm helping! Now, how many likes did it get?"
No.
Maybe instead of immediately rushing to social media to "show your support," do some research. Perhaps support in a way that could benefit someone other than yourself. Watch the news. Don't blindly show your friends how sad and hurt you are about something you have no idea about. This goes for those who did the "Ice Bucket Challenge" who don't know what it's for or what ALS is. Or those who shared an article about someone who died, and yet didn't bother reading it.
1. Cyberbullying
The bullying isn't limited to the PC culture. Peer pressure, threats, pushing someone to kill themselves. It's a serious issue, more so than that offensive tweet you saw online from a movie star. What makes matters worse is that people blindly stand by while cyberbullying happens. You can't force change onto someone, and you can't force someone to commit such horrible acts. This isn't obvious trolls writing mean comments on YouTube channels, seeking attention. This also isn't someone posting about their different views or someone being intolerant about politics, gay rights, or race. Cyberbullying is directed at a specific person. It's posting embarrassing photos of people online. It's giving someone's name and contact information out for people to engage with and threaten them. It's all of the nasty texts, rumors, and messages these cowards send to the person they wish to personally offend and hurt.
Cyberbullying is something that shouldn't exist, but people let the hate get to them, for one reason or another, and go about it the wrong way.
While there are campaigns raising awareness, including #IAmAWitness (http://iwitnessbullying.org/), cyberbullying is still around and needs more attention in order to be stopped completely. Of course, there will always be trolls, hate, and bullies online. But the more people recognize the threat, the more they can respond and possibly prevent a tragedy. Don't hide in your safe space and don't just watch the madness unfold. Do something right about it.
