You Wouldn't Dare Say That to my Face

We all want people to be genuine and real with us. We've probably all heard people "If you got something to say, say it to my face" at some point in life. We tend to look down on people who are fake, hypocrites, and/or talk behind peoples' back. But, an undeniable reality of online communication is that many people aren't necessarily "real" or "genuine." Thousands of people are completely different online, as opposed to real life and that's not always a bad thing, but unfortunately trolls and cyberbullies have to ruin it for everyone else. The anonymity and lack of consequence emboldens some to be downright horrible online. Have you ever experienced cyberbullying and/or trolling? If so, why do you feel that person acted that way towards you and how did you respond?

(My own personal experience: I once commented on the trailer of Halloween (2018) on YouTube stating how excited I was for it. The comment wasn't offensive at all nor directed towards anyone. Some a-hole came at me calling me an "a**wipe" and to "go learn some sh*t" among other things for absolutely no reason at all. I reported him and the comments were deleted.)

I have never personally experienced cyberbullying but I have definitely been treated differently and sometimes been treated terribly by people online who I know would never have treated me that way in person. The anonymity and really the ability to not have to say something to someones face and see their reaction or have to deal with what they would say in that moment allows for people to post or send things that they simply would never do in person. I have been in situations where people texted me or posted things to me that were mean and harmful to me, I know that they would have never had the courage to do this in person. But ultimately it hurt me just as much to experience this online as it would have to have experienced this in person. Though I myself also am able to respond and say things that I may not have said in person, I try my best to not be a different person online than I am in face to face situations. Cyberbullying has created a whole new type of drama and negative experiences for so many people, but I am not sure how we will deal with this problem as ultimately is it and can be anonymous online. This is something we are adjusting to and will hopefully learn to handle more appropriately in schools and among ourselves as we become more used to it.