You know those comment box flame wars you’re always getting into? Apparently it’s called cyber-disinhibition.
The Internet inadvertently undermines the quality of human interaction, allowing destructive emotional impulses freer reign under specific circumstances. The reason is a neural fluke that results in cyber-disinhibition of brain systems that keep our more unruly urges in check. The tech problem: a major disconnect between the ways our brains are wired to connect, and the interface offered in online interactions.
Funny—somehow “cyber-disinhibition” just doesn’t measure up to “rude” for me. I think people have forgotten how to write letters. Writing letters never produced this sort of problem disconnect in an age when courtesy was a rule of thumb. Maybe we’ve just been brainwashed by too many sit-coms.