Is the Blogosphere Inherently Negative?
Peter Vajda has written Robert Fuller to point out that several bloggers in the professional world have recently taken up the subject of negativity, and he has written his own essay on how this negativity is manifested in the blogosphere.
I’m curious as to whether there’s a widespread belief that the blogosphere is inherently negative since I personally have never had that impression. Therefore, I’m posting the Vajda essay here, and I invite everyone who reads this blog or otherwise deals with meta-analysis on the blogosphere to offer their views on whether there is a preponderance of negativity.
Here’s the first paragraph of the Vajda essay to give everyone a taste of the argument:
Social scientists, socioeconomists, and social psychologists are increasingly pointing to the fact that the social mood in the United States, and across the world’s culture and civilization is turning bad and that overall social mood is going to get a lot worse before improving. Research graphs and diagrams, such as the Elliot Wave Principle, underscore the finding that there is a natural ebb and flow of social mood (positive vs. negative) and that darker times, socially and politically, lie ahead of us, creating increased tension and negativity. Nowhere is this negative mood more evident than in the blogosphere where incivility, disrespect, meanness, bullying, and demeaning behavior rule the day, and the posts. What is it that accounts for this negativity among bloggers and what can be done to perhaps soothe and diminish their high degree of vitriol, rancor, meanness, incivility and disrespect?
Read the rest of the Vajda essay here.
I’ve been on many websites, blogs, message boards and chats and have seen this negativity first hand. Because of the anonymity of the net one can say what they want becuase they are thousands of miles away from their target and can say what they want without reprecutions. What worries me about the internet is this phenomenon called internet bullying where kids bully other kids using the internet to spread rumors about them post fake pics and otherwise make their lives miserable in a way that it follows them whereever they go. The net can also be used for good though. While it may have broughtdown Dan Rather the blogosphere also brought down Trent Lott and I sure don’t consider that a bad thing. It’s always a matter of who’s behind the wheel. Miguel
Comment by Miguel — December 18, 2006 @ 5:35 pm
I’ve seen people use anonymity as a shield for flaming before, but in my experience not all anonymous remarks are negative. For instance, people often prefer to remain anonymous if they think that a critical remark will draw retaliation from a powerful institution or obsessive harassment from a stalker.
My own experience is that the blogosphere is diverse - neither positive or negative. I do worry that as a culture we are developing a negative stereotype of bloggers which mainly serves to (unfairly) discredit them vis-a-vis the mainstream media.
Comment by Elisa — December 18, 2006 @ 5:44 pm
With due respect to Mr. Vajda, his diagnosis of the blogosphere is rather simple minded and distorted. The truth is a bit more nuanced. In life mediums of communication often serve two purposes: 1) define what we’re against; 2) propose alternatives as antidotes to the status quo we are against.
Robert Fuller for example has utilized writing and speaking to define the importance of being against rankism. This further facilitates what we should be for: dignity.
On the blogosphere a populism is coming through that is against rankism, corporatism and injustice. Many of us bloggers are attempting to propose constructive solutions to what we’re against for the betterment of people’s lives: education, stronger work protection laws, healthcare and so forth.
For example, on my blog I interviewed author Peter Barnes who wrote “Capitalism 3.0: Reclaiming the Commons.” Peter has posted his ideas on blogs. He has ideas to protect the environment and make capitalism more workable for the working and middle class. How is that negative?
Comment by Intrepid Liberal Journal — December 18, 2006 @ 7:15 pm
The Difference Between Negativity and Critical Thinking…
There’s been a lot of talk in the blogosphere recently about the possibility that we’re all just a bunch of complainers. They say that blogworld is an overwhelmingly negative place. We ought to try to be more optimistic and less cynical, th…
Trackback by TeresaCentric — December 19, 2006 @ 9:27 am
The reasons that people are labeled as complainers because what they rail against hits a nerve and those that want the status quo as it is wants to discredit those who won’t act compliant or obediently as complainers to discredit them. Miguel
Comment by Miguel — December 19, 2006 @ 12:12 pm
I think that the one thing that is missing from the essay is the issue of easy anonymity online; when you never know exactly whom it is you are dealing with or what their bonefides may actually be. But the thing that is certain and that is that we all have to take the time to both learn the craft of blogging and how to engage in online debate without being to precious about what we may say and how it is interpreted. We have to be prepared to concede the point sometimes.
But the other thing that drives some of the bad behavior by some Bloggers is the desire to increase their readership and for many people the indicator of their readership is the comments and it has been my experience that a confrontational post draws more comment activity than a more innocuous piece. So perhaps this is why as an individual blogger becomes more established and more sure of what they are doing that we get a commensurate maturity in their style and content. But there will always blogs that are like the Internet equivalent of Monty Pythons “room for an argument” where posters try to compete in a game of insult and invective.
Comment by Iain Hall — December 20, 2006 @ 10:28 pm
I think that the blogosphere is simply a representation of the world, on a smaller scale. There are those who take every opportunity to inject negativity into their writing, or into a comment made on the blog of another. Anonymity makes this easier. People get bolder when they can hide behind a computer screen. Overall, though, I haven’t seen as much negativity as I’ve heard many complain of.
Comment by thethinker — May 15, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
I have seen much negativity around the blogosphere, particularly on political blogs. I have no problem with critical analysis, but there is much name calling and disrespect of dissenters and elected officials.
Comment by Judy — July 3, 2007 @ 3:28 am