Hot Take Thread

The internet feels like humanity is way more "mean/cruel/stupid/extreme" than is actually reflected in real life interactions/experiences, just because you typically hear the most extremist, terminally online, echo-chambered, argumentative, controversy-craving individuals posting way more frequently on it and go viral way more often. The internet amplifies the crazy voices who post way more than, you know, the people with regular jobs, lives, friends, family, hobbies, moderate/balanced viewpoints, etc. Especially on modern social media sites. One crazy post will go viral, but the 100, if not 1000 moderate position on a topic? None of those will go viral. I feel MOST people do not think like people with "internet brain." Reddit, one of the most popular internet forums, is only actually regularly used by 1% of the US population at MOST.

Don't get me wrong, I've had otherwise normal, calm relatives who go wild crazy on Facebook with conspiracy theories, but for the most part, they are not really picking fights or causing problems in real life.

Keep in mind too that in other circumstances, the current anonymity of the internet means that people are more likely to say a LOT of things they don't believe in real life, would never be so impolite to say them in a public space, etc.