Outraging over the outraged

An article reflecting the current times – On Social Media, Some Are Susceptible to Internet Outrage – NYTimes.com

• anger is the emotion that spreads the most easily over social media. Joy came in a distant second.
• although we tend to share the happiness only of people we are close to, we are willing to join in the rage of strangers
• As the study suggests, outrage is lavishly rewarded on social media, whether through supportive comments, retweets or Facebook likes.
• People who rant online in any way tend to get into more physical and verbal altercations.”
• previous research on catharsis shows that people who vent end up being angrier down the road
• outrage carries a different flavor from pure anger; it suggests an affront to one’s value system as opposed to seething, Hulk-like fury
• The emotion plays well on social media because of its brevity and conviction, too. A 700-word Facebook post accounting for all sides of a contentious issue is unlikely to garner as many readers and endorsements as a one-sentence quip blaring heightened feelings.
• One type of outrage is particularly appealing on social media: comedic anger. A bitingly clever takedown is sure to be circulated, though it is usually the same brand of hostility veiled in amusement. (hopefully my posts are along these lines rather than outright outrage)
• we get upset only when our own privacy is compromised, not that of others
• outraged comments are sometimes more offensive than the originating misconduct
• Mobs breed a sense of anonymity
• Though we are quick to condemn callousness and prejudice as a form of bullying, we less readily interrogate our own participation, even as bystanders, in the widespread attack of a single person, which is a classic example of bullying. We may justify our reaction as appropriate remediation for whatever crime has been perpetrated, but fighting fire with fire rarely elevates the discourse.
• It is a noble endeavor to become incensed about a cause and risk arrest or toil without acclamation for one’s deeply held beliefs. Less honorable is joining a digital pile-on as a means of propping up one’s ego, even if it comes in the form of entertaining zings.

• Perhaps the real problem, Professor Martin suggested, isn’t our rage but our rashness, and its relationship to our easily accessible devices.

  “The Internet exacerbates impulse-control problems,” he said. “You get mad, and you can tell the world about it in moments before you’ve had a chance to calm down and think things through.”