The Anonymity of the Internet

A lot of people love the idea of anonymity.

I'll be the first to admit that I like being anonymous on the Internet. I personally don't want people knowing everything I'm doing. No privacy whatsoever. However, what I don't like is when people take that anonymity and abuse it.

It happens everywhere. Forums, social networking sites, blogs, comment sections--any place that allows you to create a user name completely unrelated to your name is a prime situation for flaming.

I started noticing it more on online articles in the past weeks. I typically check on the results of 'Dancing With The Stars' on Wednesday, having typically watched 'American Idol' the night before instead of the DWTS results. The amount of hateful speech that flies around in those comments is shocking. With Kate Gosselin on the show, every other post is demeaning and cruel. I can understand if someone doesn't like her (I'm not a big fan myself), but the amount of... just straight out meanness on those articles is ridiculous. Are we all such petty individuals that we feel the need to spew that negativity onto the Internet about a REALITY SHOW, which isn't even REAL??

And forget the articles, on the social networking sites, it's even worse. I've had similar experiences on Facebook where people have been so hurtful that it's actually brought me to tears. And worse yet, it came at the hands of a friend.

To make a long story short, I posted a Bible verse on a Christian-themed fan page. I'm a Christian myself, and my faith means everything to me. It's also a very sensitive subject for me. So, I thought, 'well, if I can post this verse anywhere, it's gonna be on this page.' So I posted it and thought nothing more of it. What I hadn't expected was a response to my post.

A person posted a response that was not only filled with vulgar language, but scattered with incredibly hurtful comments that had me literally crying at my computer. I had no idea who the person was, as their name was "Anonymous Jane" or something like that. So, I deleted my post and stayed away from Facebook for a bit.

When I returned about two weeks later, I noticed a conversation going on between two of my friends. One of my friends had posted a link to an article where a man claiming to be a Christian was ranting about killing gays, lesbians, Muslims, etc. Everything that I believe in--this man was saying the exact opposite. But what got me even more upset was what my friends were saying about Christians. My one friend, whom I had always trusted to accept my ideals and beliefs without judgment, was saying word for word what that anonymous user had posted on my post.

Perhaps it was only coincidence. Maybe it wasn't really her. Either way, it really upset me that she had always pretended to be fine with my faith, but in the relative "safety" of a conversation between friends, she revealed how much she hated what I believed in.

So, just remember what our mothers always used to tell us. "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all." You never know who your comments may hurt.