In this blog post, we’ll examine the breakdown of communication caused by changes in internet culture, anonymity, and a distorted sense of community.
Recently, negative trends have begun to emerge online. Among them, the most controversial and persistent issue is what’s known as “hate comments.” The comment feature, designed to allow users to express their thoughts on online posts, was originally intended for sharing opinions and communicating. However, some comments, rather than expressing a valid point, simply post malicious slander—this is what we call “hate comments.” Serious hate comments are primarily directed at celebrities active in the public eye, and as a result, some celebrities have taken their own lives, while many others have suffered from severe depression. It is even common to see people taking sides and arguing with one another in the comments section of ordinary news articles. Why has the internet become such an aggressive space? When did this problem begin?
The atmosphere of the internet in the 1990s was very different from what it is today. In the early 1990s, the online world was a space where politeness was valued, just as it was when interacting with people in real life. At that time, internet speeds were very slow, and the number of people who could communicate online was limited. Even when people connected with others in distant regions, they primarily communicated via phone calls or handwritten letters. Although anonymity was guaranteed back then as well, there wasn’t a significant disconnect between the internet and real life. It was simply a broader platform for interaction. However, today’s internet has transformed into a space where people attack one another at every turn.
The reasons for this trend can be summarized in two points: first, changes to the internet itself, and second, changes in individual attitudes. Over the past two decades, the internet has developed rapidly. Among these changes, the most significant was the increase in internet speed. This increase enabled a massive influx of information, which in turn began to cause problems. The pace of the internet’s development far outstripped the pace of changes in internet policies. As a result, inappropriate information and violent content were exposed to the public without proper censorship, and people gradually became desensitized to such content. As time went on, the internet became flooded with more and more aggressive and sensational content, and people grew desensitized to this environment and began to ignore it.
Furthermore, a lack of vigilance regarding misinformation spreading online is also a problem. People often accept unverified information obtained from strangers—whose faces and names they do not know—as fact. Sensational information, in particular, spreads rapidly and is widely disseminated through word of mouth. As a result, people accept false information as fact and build their own knowledge base on this foundation. This phenomenon has a particularly significant impact on adolescents. Since adolescents have not yet established a firm sense of self or social identity, they easily accept false information, which leads to confusion and sometimes causes them to make irrational claims.
Anonymity is also a major issue. Thanks to anonymity, a thick wall has been erected between people. People do not feel responsible for the impact their comments have on others. Consequently, people have become increasingly unrestrained in their online behavior; with the constraints on their actions disappearing, they no longer hesitate to make hurtful remarks.
Changes in individual perceptions are also playing a role here. For example, South Korea has historically had a culture that values etiquette to such an extent that it was once referred to as the “Land of Eastern Etiquette.” However, with the influx of Western culture and the spread of individualism, many people have begun to find observing etiquette uncomfortable. Furthermore, some people have come to dismiss observing etiquette online as mere pretense. They believe they should vent the stress accumulated in real life freely online, and this trend has led to more and more people failing to observe etiquette online.
Furthermore, as courtesy in conversation has disappeared, there are now many instances where people do not listen to others but simply assert what they already know. They engage in arguments based on unreliable information found online, yet when their knowledge is pointed out as incorrect, they often dismiss it as mere criticism. As a result, they come to believe that what they know is the truth and shower those who disagree with blind criticism.
In addition to this shift in perception, a transformed sense of community also fuels people’s aggressive tendencies online. A sense of community refers to the bond members feel within a group and the efforts made to maintain that community. In the past, South Korea viewed the nation itself as one large community, and mutual support was considered a virtue. However, as internet usage increased, numerous small-scale communities began to emerge, and conflicts arose between those that were at odds with one another. Amid these conflicts, communities became increasingly exclusive, and it became common to slander other communities or even treat their members with hostility.
As a result, the mindset that once viewed the entire nation as a single community has now shifted to one that considers only the small community to which one belongs as the true community. Over time, these divisions deepened, and clashes between communities became more frequent. Furthermore, even people who did not belong to any specific community began to split into two opposing camps—those for and against a particular opinion—and engage in conflict. This distorted sense of community turned the internet into a space of confrontation.
In addition, broader societal trends have also influenced this phenomenon. Recently, in mass media such as television, people who hurl insults or use profanity are often portrayed as humorous or cool. However, this is mostly limited to scripted situations and does not apply in real life. Nevertheless, adolescents sometimes view such behavior as cool, and there has been an increase in cases where they mimic it in real life.
