The "Dark Side" of YouTube by Ryan Irish
NOTES: Origins and Context | See Also
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Origins of this content
Contextualization
http://goinswriter.com/mean-people-online/ Even with such experience, the uncouthness of what I read online sometimes surprises me. I wonder: Did you really think about that before posting it?
My suspicion is it's the anonymity of the Internet that causes people to say things online that would make their mothers blush. To run their mouths in ways they'd never do in someone's home.
http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/7869819/2012-nba-playoffs-nike-designer-mocks-derrick-rose-chicago-bulls-torn-acl
http://www.kctv5.com/story/16989686/is-the-internet-making-people-mean "Dr. John Wisner with the University of Kansas School of Medicine says human beings are wired to communicate the old-fashioned way, face-to-face."
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After the emergence of myspace and then facebook I started to notice that my friends got a lot meaner.. I remember questioning if it was something I did, however, as I was in the middle of writing another snide comment on a friend's facebook status it hit me! These social platforms, although they provide many positives, are leading to the desensitization of humans to their actions and words. Social websites like YouTube, Facebook, and twitter allow us to interact with people all around the world with a single click. However, this single click, allows us to say things impulsively. As opposed to 10 years ago when there was nothing like these websites and if you were mad at someone you would have to wait until the next day to see this person to tell them how you really felt. This waiting period would allow a person to "cool off" and when you would see the person your words were never as harsh because it is so difficult to say hurtful things to another human when you are looking them in the eye. With the emergence of a site such as YouTube, you are able to anonymously make a very mean comment and do it in a matter of seconds.

Yes, YouTube does do incredible things with its globalized platform such as creating forums to learn about issues and creating a way for friends to bond by sharing videos. Youtube even provides a commentary space under each video so that people can communicate with the user who uploaded the video. However, YouTube is also cutting away basic humanity. A person can now, via a made up name, say hateful things to another user without realizing the ramifications of what they are doing. Also, users are able to upload a video with a single click. The video could be something that is extremely beneficial to the world or it could be a video of a friend during an embarrassing moment. When working with any social website users should realize what they are doing and should even consider contemplating the comment or video they are about to upload for 10 minutes before they do it. It seems that social media users should abide by Planned Parenthood's motto of, "Don't Just Do It."