
Ask HN: How do you avoid being negative online? - akersten
I often reflect on my actions as a means of self-improvement. I&#x27;ve noticed a disproportionate amount of my online interactions are rude, cynical, or generally less empathetic than I aspire to be. Maybe it is easier to be indignant toward words on a screen than another person face-to-face.<p>Do you find that it is easier to be negative than positive online? What strategies do you use to counter these impulses?
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hindsightbias
Jim Jones once said “If I’d hated you more, we would have had a lot less
trouble”

No doubt most will see the messenger and not the message, but much of IRL is
suffering fools whereas online most don’t feel that need.

It’s telling that the youts I’ve advised to tell their dependent peers to
“RTFM” are now the angriest or most jaded luddites now. Something about
turning 30, managing or too many taps on the shoulder? Who knows.

Today, we seem to reward a benevolent culture that feeds the man (sic) but
doesn’t teach them how to fish. And wiki and google have never taught anyone
how to be a good fisher(man). And as time goes on, it is now a daily
experience to find yourself interacting with someone too lazy to even google
or think.

It’s great that I work with some awesome people, and I’ll crawl over glass for
them. But the older folks are afraid of email and texts, they’ve been burned
too many times with misinterpretation. OK or Kk? What is a 40-something to do?
They will never be woke.

So they avoid online and always want to call. The least efficient means of
communication is the safest space for them. And it’s always a positive to hear
their voice.

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jelliclesfarm
Simple. I am less negative when I don’t take it personally.

A lot of times defensiveness is due to thinking that it’s about us...100% of
the times, it’s not.

Online interactions can be exhilaratingly freeing because we don’t have to be
held accountable or follow norms. If it seems negative to you, then it means
you are holding yourself accountable.

You won’t feel negative if you release yourself from accountability. That’s
another way too.

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TheChaplain
Just like the real world, you are influenced by the environment and people
around you.

What made my online life more pleasant was cutting out the social media I have
no hard need for. The remaining ones I specifically follow only those who post
informative/funny/educational stuff.

Any poster with opinions (especially involving politics) are blocked/muted
instantly.

