Everyone Is Mad
It’s great to have the world at your fingertips. You can access and be connected to people, ideas, and places that you may not be connected to otherwise. However, there is one caveat. Though it takes a real person to have a life on the internet, the internet is not real life. Most of us who interact through social media are only doing so as a persona and not as the person we are in real life. We even react to situations online differently than we would in real life. We play the adult version of the game Show & Tell and get rewarded for nothing other than being boastful online. Meanwhile, we find it distasteful if people brag or name-drop at social gatherings in person. The behaviors and actions we find to be socially unacceptable, or at least repulsive, in real life have gradually become the status quo online.
Being angry is the new digital social trend. If you are not angry about said topic, you are part of the problem and no one wants to be part of the problem, right? In order for people to know that we really value something, we pay the online currency. The currency is measured through likes, shares, and followers and if you’d like to leave a tip; make an angry post of your own.
As I said, the internet is great, but it has provided an unreasonable amount of space for us to share excessively, carelessly, and aggressively.
Is it just me, or is everyone mad?
I have ingested more content with a lot of ranting, polarizing titles/captions, debates, and fights than ever before. As much as the bragging posts are deserving of critique, the numerous posts of people being angry online are cause for great concern.
The environment online has become more aggressive, pouty, and unbearable over time. We are chronically upset and apparently most of us think it’s cute.
Story Time:
I was scrolling on LinkedIn one day and found myself perplexed about a response to something I would not have even cared to know about. The post was this woman’s (we will call her Darlene) response to an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the Mayor’s joke regarding remote workers. Unfortunately, my curiosity got the best of me and had me clicking the link to see what the mayor of Minneapolis had to say about remote workers. The article expressed how the Mayor, Jacob Frey, was taken aback when he had to explain how he was not to be taken seriously when he said [ anyone who doesn’t want to work in-person, in the office is a “loser”]. Sure, I thought it was an unimpressive joke and a pointless statement at the least. At most, I thought his PR team should work harder at making this guy not look like a complete clown. You could argue that even my response was a bit strong, given that I don’t actually care what Jacob Frey has to say about remote workers. Given the option, I am gladly working remotely every day and wearing a shirt that says “loser” while doing it.
I just didn’t think his statements warranted an even stronger reaction; a post written by Darlene.
In the post, she mentioned how she didn’t find the joke funny. Instead, she found it stupid and went on a rant about how remote workers aren’t lazy. “we are WORKERS!” She said. Yes, Darlene hit the caps lock on her keyboard so we could really feel her words.
Admittedly, I read Darlene’s post and initially scoffed at the fact that this woman was trying to have a social justice moment for remote workers. Why is she so outraged about this? Aren’t there better things to be upset about? Then I was like, hold up, wait a minute, what makes this post special enough to be shared on MY screen? To put it simply, the amount of people who had clapped their hands on behalf of this woman’s rant made it so that it was special.
Here is the thing, Darlene. I agree. The joke was not funny; it was lame at best. I see you are having a moment or wanted to create a moment, but it shouldn’t have been that deep. It’s not to say Darlene or others like her cannot be irritated or angry or even empathize with someone upset. All I am saying is, how much did this particular event anger her to the point of posting about it in this manner? Perhaps everyone who ‘liked’ this post was a remote worker or was just as passionate about remote workers as Darlene. In the real world, what they would be saying is, “Hey, Darlene, we love that you’re angry about this.” How insane is that?
As a Black Woman, people expect that I am outraged. Whether it comes from within my community or without, people expect it. The thing is, I am not outraged, but if I were, it would be viewed as justified and even encouraged. The burning question is, why would anyone want me to be?
Being in a state of anger, resentment or bitterness was good for no one that has ever lived.
Why do we publicly share our moments of outrage and aggression? Are we so distracted by the rewards of likes and shares that we don’t even realize that being outraged is a prerequisite to having an online presence or gaining popularity? Is our outrage honest and truthful, or is it performative? Why are we even outraged about this in the first place? Or are we just harming ourselves and putting ourselves in a perpetual state of misery?
We have mistaken outrage for being courageous. We started to perform and dance for others, even if it meant we did it angrily and miserably. We have praised others for being so outraged that they’ve harmed others. We’ve even carried the anger of others and made it our own because being so is what made us a “good person”.
It seems as if the same behaviors that we aim to correct in children, somehow get a pass when it comes to adults interacting online. Since when does Johnny throwing a tantrum get him what he wants? Being angry has never been cute!
One could argue that some of the greatest movements in the world only came to pass because someone was outraged. And they wouldn’t be wrong. The Civil Rights Movement is an era that has benefited us all. Multiple people had to speak up and express their outrage. Yes, it was courageous as all hell. The difference now is, that the outrage today is not met with anything else. People didn’t want to be forever outraged. They wanted the right to live fully and peacefully.
In my humble opinion, the outrage expressed today does not match the amount of things there are to be outraged about. Is it possible that society is reaching a point where it’s pretty damn good, though imperfect, that we are enraged and finding issues with even the lamest jokes?
Being angry does not make a passionate, compassionate, or actionable person. It sure as hell doesn’t make a warrior, a leader, or a spokesperson. Instead, it makes a fool, who is irrational and uncontrollably entitled; and a person who claps for a fool is an imbecile.