Reading internet comments is driving me insane, and we only have our news organizations to thank for it.
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Hey, here’s a fun game if you want to feel depressed and uneasy about the state of society in 2013: go to any news website that has a comments section, click on literally any article, and, instead of reading the article and processing the information, read the comments section. I picked a heartbreaking story on CNN about a girl who was declared legally brain dead after complications from a tonsillectomy. Harmless, right? Wrong:
“Amazing that the surgery was paid for by the taxpayers and now the family will benefit from a lawsuit.” (The implication here is that, because the girl was African-American, she was a thirteen year-old welfare queen.)
“first, if there is insufficient brain activity to sustain life, let ‘em go…been there & done that for my 33 yr old son… unfortunately, this child was a walking train-wreck beforehand and now this family is going to drag this stuff out and then file a suit and get a big payoff then revert to whatever life they had before. darn shame.”
“Reading stories like this rips my heart out and infuriates me. We have tonsils for a reason, if you have issues with your tonsils the first thing you need to do is A DIET CHANGE!! They wanted to “remove” my kids tonsils and I said “the H3ll you will” !! Doctors are doing nothing, but hurting people with their poisonous meds and useless surgeries!!! I am going to go vomit….”
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Interactions between the media and people who are actually investing their time in news are healthy. That’s why, when print was the premier source of the world’s media, there were “Letters to the Editor” and “Opinion” columns. What isn’t healthy, however, is giving someone with an agenda – whether it be their own agenda or one that was spoon fed to them by a political party or someone with a bone to pick – or just something nonconstructive, slanderous, or just unnecessarily rotten to say, an equal platform to the author of the article.
Michael Errard of the New York Times wrote about this subject back in september and found that some of the online communities that moderate their commenting platform 24/7 have a thriving community of constructive feedback. And for many websites, moderation seems to work; however, for large news organizations such as CNN, Fox News, and the Huffington Post, it’s impossible to cut anything that isn’t blatantly threatening, racist, or homophobic.
Maybe we’re to blame for this. When the most reliably unbiased news source for Americans is the BBC, you have to wonder if we created this problem. The blurring of news and opinion has cultivated a culture of know-it-alls with unfounded claims to make and bullshit talking points to push. So, until news organizations are able to clearly differentiate between what’s news and what’s opinion, and until talking heads are able to admit that what they’re selling viewers and readers is opinion, there’s really nothing that can be done to fix this epidemic. Except, of course, to get your friendly daily reminder to not read the comments.
––Photo espensorvik/Flickr
I think instead that, let me use the word ‘malevolent’ comments, are a mirror into the soul of the present time population. Let me explain, the more people struggle as harder life than 10y ago, hopelessness, fewer and fewer resources, frustration ect, the more trolls infest the internet. I dont think all these trolls really mean what they say, at least not everybody, but its a kind of release, a vent a outburst from the stress and the pressure they get from struggling to get through the day. So in other words its a picture of the emotive state of… Read more »
I love how no one has commented on this subject yet. It sickens me to look at all comment sections, filled with angry, selfish, ignorant and hateful statements.
I think one way to combat this phenomenon might be to outlaw the opportunity to comment under a pseudonym. If you want to say something nasty, you’re going to have to attach your REAL name to what you say.
” I love how no one has commented on this subject yet.” Well remember the rule, dont read the comments, so why would anybody waste their time commenting, the users only try to satisfy the wishes of the blogger 😉 (im joking) “It sickens me to look at all comment sections, filled with angry, selfish, ignorant and hateful statements.” well actually some comments are negative, but far from everybody. “I think one way to combat this phenomenon might be to outlaw the opportunity to comment under a pseudonym. If you want to say something nasty, you’re going to have to… Read more »
Hey, comment away! I’m more or less strictly talking about news articles, about actual facts and not just opinions, like this article, which is my personal opinion, that you are more than free to disagree with as you’d like. 🙂