Facebook makes us faceless

Have you ever scrolled through the comment section of YouTube or Facebook? If you have, you more than likely have seen some ugly and crude remarks. Sometimes these are directed towards other users, and sometimes they're directed towards the subject of the video or article itself.

Clicking on any number of YouTube videos or Facebook comments will surely bring about a barrage of crude comments. Social media has facilitated a dangerous realm of passive aggression for cutting remarks and unnecessary cruelty to take place without users actually having to face one another. This culture of contempt has and is continuing to affect more than just online threads. It seems like every month, another tragic teen suicide is reported to be caused by negative online comments.

Last week the Wenatchee World reported that 14-year-old Rafael Morelos from Washington committed suicide. According to the article, someone created a fake Facebook page in order to harass him online because he was gay.

According to the Huffington Post, 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer from New York committed suicide last fall amidst intense online bullying. The Post reported that a Formspring account opened by Rodemeyer garnered comments by anonymous users telling him to kill himself.

Would adolescents parade around face to face and urge someone to commit suicide? Not likely. And yet somehow, with a few inches of plastic screen shielding us from the real world, we can be as harsh as we want to. It's not only harmful, but it's also cowardly.

So what does this demonstrate about our culture and, more importantly, about our generation as a whole?

I believe it shows the degree to which fame and beauty are envied and reviled. It also highlights the hyper-polarization of politics, culture and ideology. When someone becomes the "other" that person becomes a target. Respect isn't so common anymore, especially when the Internet is involved.

It is unclear if or when this deplorable behavior will ever end. Perhaps the next time you visit a comment section, consider what you'd be willing to say to someone's face.