The question of the internet’s effects on people has been around just as long as the internet itself has existed. Is it good? Is it bad? While those questions are valid, they aren’t the questions that are important because the answer to both is yes.
The internet is a tool plain and simple. It isn’t until that tool is in the hands of people that it becomes either that good or that bad tool. A brick isn’t bad on its own until it is used to hit someone. In the same way the internet isn’t bad until someone uses it against someone else. There have been plenty of good and bad things that have come from the internet. It all comes down to how that tool is used.
The real question we should be asking is why do people use the internet in these ways? For good or for bad, both are important to understand.
I could rattle off dozens of possible reasons why people do things on the internet, but it really comes down to one thing: Emotions. The internet just happens to be one of the biggest outlets for the largest variety of emotions.
Emotions are one of the largest motivators people have. According to the Oxford handbook of human action, “Some motivations are biological, such as the motivation for food, water, and sex. But there are a variety of other personal and social motivations that can influence behaviour, including the motivations for social approval and acceptance, the motivation to achieve, and the motivation to take, or to avoid taking, risks.”While the handbook doesn’t cover all the emotions that motivate people, it explores the fact that we do things we find rewarding.
And what is more rewarding than receiving affirmations from that post you made? Or proving yourself right on your political opinions? The internet is the tool that we use to get those things sometimes. So rather than beware of the tool, beware the people using it.
