I do think it is very sad to see how many people handle themselves in a less than healthy way online. While this may seem baffling to some of us, I think the fact that so many people are unaware of the unhealthy nature of their online behavior should tell us that this a real problem. Unlike face to face social interaction, online interaction causes emotional responses from people that cannot be seen. We get verbal, tonal and nonverbal feedback from all of the people around us, telling us when they feel hurt, judged, angry, happy, loved, inspired, as well as giving approval, disapproval, judgement, etc. While all of people's thoughts and emotions are not necessarily blatantly visible, we do learn much of how to behave from this type of feedback. Considering all of this, I believe online etiquette needs to be taught. Whether in school or in the home, it needs to be taught to this generation that is growing up with social media.
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