It seems everyone thinks the world is full of terrible, horrible, no good, very bad people.
And sure, while you’ll find your share of jerkholes everywhere you go, I think a lot of this way, way overblown. People are mostly good, even if we all have the capacity to be shitty to one another sometimes.
But I think there are a few things about modern society that make us especially prone to think that we’re all surrounded by assholes all the time.
Let me explain.
One Bad Apple Spoils the Whole Barrel
I imagine if you measured it, you’d find that the more time people spend online, the more cynical they become. People who are online all day, every day, likely believe humanity is one giant festering shitpool, while people who actually, you know, go outside and do things probably think most people are A-OK.
I think one of the reasons for this is that the internet is so broad and massive — and anonymous — that it’s hard to get a real sense of who you’re dealing with.
It feels like everywhere you go, there’s some trolling comment or dumb Facebook argument or infuriating email waiting for you. You get this warped sense that the entire planet is filled with whiny, entitled idiots drooling onto their keyboards.
