Why Do You Think People Are So Mean on the Internet?

"Anonymity."

"It has to do with the things that you wouldn't say to someone's face based on prescribed social codes. We need to be connecting more and more in a physical space to avoid having those perceived truths spreading online. It's profoundly more useful to have one friend tell you if there's something wrong than a thousand people you don't know doing so."

"I think the internet is great in the ways in which anonymity allows fluid expression and community building, but the bad thing about the internet is that it privileges output over listening, which translates to empathy. I don't think good listeners are very active in the comments."

"It gives people the anonymous confidence to be assholes."

"There's absolutely no accountability in that world. It's a really punk move to pull."

"Because there are no direct consequences."

"I've always though of it as people letting out aggression in a forum that doesn't
actually require them to do it in person."

"Because they like the power it gives them."