The remoteness of the communication and people not being at arm’s length also means you don’t get punched in the face for abhorrent behavior. The person who invents the telepunch will save the world.
Replies
I think it's more the remoteness of communication emboldening people to be their worst selves, we have decades of research showing online abuse goes up, not down, when people use their real names. You get the least abuse when people use persistent pseudonyms.
sep 2, 2025, 2:29 pm • 21 1 • view
Do we know which people (the target or sender) this dynamic affects?
sep 3, 2025, 2:31 am • 0 0 • view
I wonder if that's because the pseudonym is the persona they want to be, versus their actual persona, which is the one thrust upon them and socially negotiated by the world.
sep 2, 2025, 6:20 pm • 3 0 • view
My theory includes many factors but also "a chosen pseud is more likely to be google-unique, while you could be one of a hundred thousand Mike Joneses"
sep 3, 2025, 2:29 am • 17 0 • view