Anger on the internet

It's very easy to get angry on the internet. Platforms like Twitter let anyone publish their opinions instantly. As evidenced by the massive growth of Twitter, this is a very popular pastime.

The danger is that your opinions become self-supporting by locking yourself into a bubble of like-minded thinking through your choice of social network, news outlet, or other publishing medium. If you never have your opinions challenged, it's easy to make the leap that they're correct.

I like talking to people about ideas that I have to check that I'm not going insane, and my most productive arguments conversations have been with people who vehemently disagreed with me.

I think the internet makes it easier to avoid having your ideas challenged by reality. I see stories in the news that make me wonder whether some people are so divorced from reality that when they do have to face a dissenting opinion their only response is total nuclear meltdown.

Vigorous discourse is very productive for developing critical thought. The ancient Greeks knew this, and it made them some of history's greatest thinkers. If someone disagreeing with your ideas is so offensive that you can't engage with them, that's a bit worrying.

Steve Hughes says it best;

What's wrong with being offended? When did ‘sticks and stones may break my bones’ stop being relevant? … Be offended—nothing happens. You're an adult; grow up, deal with it.