Writing.Com General Discussion

> I think part of it is that distance, and hiding behind a computer, acts as a shield - you don't see me, I don't see you - and thus we can and will say things that, if we were face-to-face, we wouldn't say to each other otherwise.

This actually is true and adds weight to the theory that suggests people can and will do anything if they believe they will get away with it. On the other hand, there is a well known test being run by various research teams, where they leave a wallet with money in it somewhere. In the wallet is money and some means to contact the person who 'lost' it. Out of hundreds of wallets left in public spaces, very few were not returned. It was rare for a wallet to be returned without the money. The general economic status of an area doesn't change this - just as many are returned from very poor areas as from affluent areas.

A lot of online trolls that have been identified turned out to be fairly much ordinary people, and most of them didn't think they were doing anything wrong. There seems to be this disconnect between morality and responsibility, such that it is only wrong if you think you could be caught. It would seem that in a world where much of our existence is in an environment where we can - if we chose - be anonymous, that we need to educate people better with regard to social responsibility.