1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: Lauren volgelbah Here. Back in the day when brain Stuff 3 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: had a YouTube show, we got enough mean comments that 4 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: we once did a whole episode where we just read 5 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,840 Speaker 1: them off. My favorite about me was when someone took 6 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,319 Speaker 1: the time out of their one precious life to write 7 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: down and then post quote, your arms are crap and 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: so is your face, which I think is objectively funny. 9 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,479 Speaker 1: But also, I'm just trying to talk about science on 10 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: the Internet. So even if that statement happened to be true, 11 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: isn't saying it to a fellow human person a little 12 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: uncalled for? Whether it's a social media app, a chat stream, 13 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:50,520 Speaker 1: a comment section, or a message forum, the Internet seems 14 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,319 Speaker 1: to be a magnet for nasty comments, partially because few 15 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: result in real world consequences. But why are people so 16 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: mean on the Internet. The route, it seems, may lie 17 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: deep within the human psyche. The majority of our communication 18 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: is nonverbal, composed of body language, eye contact, speech tone, 19 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:15,680 Speaker 1: and language patterns. Without this information to help us process 20 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: and categorize information, our minds are left to sort through 21 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: the uncertain, and, thanks to a leftover prehistoric pensiant for 22 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: fight or flight. Being unsure about another person's intent often 23 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: creates a negative reaction to a perceived threat. Also, by 24 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: continually presenting only our curated best selves online and reaping 25 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:40,960 Speaker 1: the emotional benefits of lots of likes or up votes 26 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: or what have you, psychologists say our self esteem may 27 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: bloom disproportionately and negatively impact our self control. The result, 28 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: we may feel entitled to be mean. Experts also posit 29 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,559 Speaker 1: that people may actually forget that they're speaking out loud 30 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:01,320 Speaker 1: when they post a snarky comment. Writing something from a 31 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: smartphone almost seems like you're talking to yourself. It may 32 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: be especially hard for people to remember that there are 33 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: real humans behind popular or professional accounts. This entitlement or 34 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: lack of inhibition may also be connected to the physical 35 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: distance from the people to whom those comments are directed. 36 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,400 Speaker 1: Research has shown that the closer the physical proximity you 37 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: have to someone, the less likely you are to be 38 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: mean spirited. For example, one study found that game show 39 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: contestants we're less likely to vote off a contestant standing 40 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: next to them than one standing further away. And this 41 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: meanness affects more than just our online lives. Being unpleasant 42 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: in a virtual world can spill over into real life, 43 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: resulting in an increase in aggressive communication with coworkers, family members, 44 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: and friends, causing damage to relationships that must later be repaired. 45 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 1: While being unkind online can temporarily boost self esteem, it's 46 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: a short lived high. A lasting self esteem is correlated 47 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,079 Speaker 1: with things like setting and achieving goals and forming meaningful 48 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:10,639 Speaker 1: connections within a group. Still, the internet seems to attract 49 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:14,720 Speaker 1: comments that people wouldn't dare express publicly in three dimensions, 50 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: especially when it comes to hot topics such as gender 51 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: expression or gun rights. But what can you do if 52 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: you become a target. Many online publications now require commenters 53 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 1: to register and provide a valid email address in order 54 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:32,519 Speaker 1: to put the brakes on trolls, that is, posters who 55 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 1: intentionally comment producatively to get a rise out of others, 56 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: But whether it actually makes a difference is debatable. Back 57 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: in two thousand and seven, South Korea mandated that all 58 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: websites with more than one hundred thousand users had to 59 00:03:44,320 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: require them to enter their real names as well as 60 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: input personal information at registration, in an effort to reduce 61 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: abuse of comments. This law wound up being scrapped because 62 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: negative comments only declined by zero point nine percent in 63 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,840 Speaker 1: the following year, and adding identifying info left people more 64 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: vulnerable to hacking. On a more personal level, one of 65 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: the most effective strategies for diffusing heated situations is to 66 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: give yourself a time out. Take a few minutes or 67 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: hours to cool off before you reply, and when you do, 68 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: stay calm. Just ask the person to stop, or go 69 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: straight to blocking them and or reporting their behavior to 70 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: the powers that be in that corner of the internet. 71 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,479 Speaker 1: Don't respond to negative comments with negativity of your own. 72 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: If you find it difficult to resist a retort, There's 73 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: sometimes the option of disabling comments altogether. If threats seem 74 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 1: likely to escalate and spill over into real life, make 75 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:42,920 Speaker 1: a police report. Even in jurisdictions that don't have specific 76 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: laws against online harassment, wider anti harassment laws may apply 77 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,400 Speaker 1: a document the scope and depth of the behavior. Of course, 78 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: pursuing any kind of legal action is most effective if 79 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 1: you haven't thrown any gasoline on the fire. It can 80 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:01,839 Speaker 1: be infuriating when someone treats you rudely, but you always 81 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: have the option to leave it alone. Is it worth 82 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: the mental energy to even dignify it with a response. 83 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: As with all interactions with difficult people, it helps to 84 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,719 Speaker 1: remember the source. People who are lashing out usually have 85 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,320 Speaker 1: troubles of their own and are simply looking to exert 86 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: control or discomfort, all in an effort to make themselves 87 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 1: feel a bit better. What I tried to take from 88 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: my time on YouTube is that those people who commented 89 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: about my arms or whatever don't know me. They saw 90 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: a version of past me who went into a studio 91 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:35,719 Speaker 1: and made a video one time, and whatever they think 92 00:05:35,720 --> 00:05:38,919 Speaker 1: of her, it has nothing to do with me, with 93 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,919 Speaker 1: my full being, and probably a lot to do with 94 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,479 Speaker 1: their own state of mind. Of course, mental health is 95 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:48,359 Speaker 1: really complicated and something that a lot of people struggle with, 96 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 1: especially in stressful or uncertain times, and our brains are 97 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: somewhat wired toward negativity, both to give it and to 98 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:01,039 Speaker 1: remember it. Prehistorically speaking, it was more important to remember 99 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: to avoid the threatening tiger than to remember to approach 100 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: a friendly dog. If you catch yourself frequently lashing out 101 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,279 Speaker 1: online or otherwise getting stuck in negative thought loops, consider 102 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 1: talking to a healthcare professional about it. The world can 103 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:21,279 Speaker 1: be really rough, but spreading negativity externally or internally isn't 104 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 1: going to make it better. Navigating mental health is an 105 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: individual venture. Depending on the situation, Experts recommend everything from 106 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 1: exercise to talk therapy, to medication to just trying to 107 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:38,559 Speaker 1: remember to approach the friendly dog. By recognizing nice things 108 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:42,679 Speaker 1: that happen, finishing a project or chore, seeing a cool 109 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 1: bug or rock, or having a good interaction with a 110 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: friend or stranger, you can sometimes overshadow negativity and sometimes 111 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:59,000 Speaker 1: train your brain to seek out more positive rewards. Today's 112 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: episode is based on the art Is There a Psychological 113 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:03,839 Speaker 1: Reason for People Being Mean? On the Internet? On how 114 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: stuffworks dot Com, written by Julia Layton. Brain Stuff is 115 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: a production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how 116 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: Stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. But 117 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, 118 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.