21st Century Internet Users: A Culture of Cathartic Stupidity

Freud referred to the moment of release after a long and arduous therapy session as catharsis. Much of Freud's work, as is often common-ish knowledge, revolved around the idea that humans inherently repress their urges, due to internalized public notions of what is and is not acceptable. I'm starting with Freud because I think the Internet, in some distinctly new ways, allows the common person the ability to live out their formerly repressed urges/ideas. We now have a massive blanket of protective anonymity.

How else does one explain the phenomenon of massified fetish porn, the vicious comments left on blogs and YouTube videos, and the behavior in chat rooms? We jumped on this vessel when we realized it allowed us to say whatever we wanted - it allows us to splinter our personalities, to take on whatever persona we desire.

I don't think it's unreasonable to think these desires were always there - they have not been manufactured by the Internet. Sexual fetishes have always existed, as have industries that profit from them - that isn't new. Racism, sexism - these are not new shortcomings either - and the release allowed by anonymity is not as strong as slavery or theocratic societies have permitted. The new feature of these ID-releases is that they are unextraordinary, pedestrian and everywhere.

This implies nothing significantly groundbreaking about human nature, not anything that Freud didn't postulate a century ago. It does speak volumes to his criticizers though. It is becoming increasingly clear that there are SOME urges we are repressing, and they are beginning to shake loose. Our obsession with the absurdities of the commonplace - with reality TV, or embarrassing YouTube videos - is startling. Our appetite for entertainment has mutated us into a culture of exhibitionists and voyeurs.

It is not these facets of Internet culture, however, that worry me. I want to confront the underbelly of this cultural practice, so i can understand our perverse Internet transactions. Essentially, I think the motivations and actions of the exhibitionists are, for the most part, easier to understand - the audience is more interesting. I invite you to surf through YouTube videos and blogs (which you already do, all the time) and read the comments critically, as if they were just as meticulously constructed as the submissions. I want you to be privy to the arguments that break out over the Internet and the seeming passion with which they are pursued.

This isn't normal. These occurrences should stir in you some important questions concerning this emerging e-populace: Why do we feel comfortable saying things on the Internet we would never say otherwise? Are our public reservations that weak? How will these outbursts continue to evolve - and can they achieve something worthwhile?

Our fascination with Internet information alone is obscene. A blog is at best an unsupported argument, and at worst an inane rant. However the blogworld is eclipsing legitimate journalism. We seem to value information less now - which we mask with vague statements about this being the age of information, which is absurd in light of the fall of objectivity. This is the age of disinformation (campy, I know). The effort towards learning is gone - the reverence for intelligence is following, and at a time when information about the world is commonplace, we seem to care less. The Internet could be gateway towards endless knowledge, but let's be honest; we use it to watch people fuck up on a massive scale on YouTube - and to steal shit.

I'm engaging with this now, on my first post, because I want to know where I fit in amongst all the e-bullshit. I want to know whether or not I am just another exhibitionist, providing new smut for the hungry voyeurs? In the face of the enormity of the world-online, I am scrambling to understand its changing features. In response to those semi-cathartic releases we are engaging in, I think they might be useful, especially for Canadians. Perhaps politeness is old-guard. I'm not talking about please and thank yous, and I'm not talking about holding back from your tendency towards inarticulate rage (please, continue to stave that off). However, I think we may need to say what we think more often. If we had been doing that all along, we would never have resorted to these large scale angry releases.

Peace,
from the war-zone.
Jesse.