Abuse.
So once again Facebook allows me to comment on society.
See, apparently some people who should probably be reported to Child Protective Services set up a cause on the old Eff-Bee, stating that if they got a certain number of fans, then a friend of theirs would name her child Megatron. It has more than a million fans now.
On the other hand, a cause to stop child abuse has less than half as many fans.
Let's take a look at a few things that this might mean.
A) Having grown up with the name Simon, and having put up with a lot of crap just from having the name Simon, I'm willing to infer that the people who support foisting a name like that on an unwitting kid until he's old enough to have it legally changed (or murder his parents) are, in fact, ardent supporters of child abuse.
B) This is one of the more apparent ways that we can see that Facebook isn't real life.
"But Simon!" you say. "Duh!" Bear with me. See, there's already enough studies out there that show what sort of an emotional disconnect people feel when they're dealing with others online. Stick a pair of computer terminals between two people, and suddenly they're not real people.
Once that empathy's gone, then your public declaration that you disapprove of child abuse? Well, who's gonna care that you think children are worth protecting? Some people might even insult you for choosing to be a fan of such a bleeding-heart cause. In short, your effort to do something kind has no positive effect that you can perceive.
On the flip side of the coin, your public declaration of support for making a specific child suffer, all for your amusement? Well, that kid isn't real, at least not to you. So you're not actually causing any suffering, any more than when you forget to feed your llamas for the fourth straight week in Farmville. Thus, your wanton act of cruelty is seen as a mere amusement, evidence that you're the sort of randomly fun person that everyone wants at their party (as long as no children are involved).
And on pure whim, the average user of the Internet is more likely to do the vicarious unkindness than the symbolic kindness.
It's sad, but then life is rarely happy.
See, apparently some people who should probably be reported to Child Protective Services set up a cause on the old Eff-Bee, stating that if they got a certain number of fans, then a friend of theirs would name her child Megatron. It has more than a million fans now.
On the other hand, a cause to stop child abuse has less than half as many fans.
Let's take a look at a few things that this might mean.
A) Having grown up with the name Simon, and having put up with a lot of crap just from having the name Simon, I'm willing to infer that the people who support foisting a name like that on an unwitting kid until he's old enough to have it legally changed (or murder his parents) are, in fact, ardent supporters of child abuse.
B) This is one of the more apparent ways that we can see that Facebook isn't real life.
"But Simon!" you say. "Duh!" Bear with me. See, there's already enough studies out there that show what sort of an emotional disconnect people feel when they're dealing with others online. Stick a pair of computer terminals between two people, and suddenly they're not real people.
Once that empathy's gone, then your public declaration that you disapprove of child abuse? Well, who's gonna care that you think children are worth protecting? Some people might even insult you for choosing to be a fan of such a bleeding-heart cause. In short, your effort to do something kind has no positive effect that you can perceive.
On the flip side of the coin, your public declaration of support for making a specific child suffer, all for your amusement? Well, that kid isn't real, at least not to you. So you're not actually causing any suffering, any more than when you forget to feed your llamas for the fourth straight week in Farmville. Thus, your wanton act of cruelty is seen as a mere amusement, evidence that you're the sort of randomly fun person that everyone wants at their party (as long as no children are involved).
And on pure whim, the average user of the Internet is more likely to do the vicarious unkindness than the symbolic kindness.
It's sad, but then life is rarely happy.