Quote:
Originally Posted by dermald
I knew someone who would bully online. He seemed to have no sense of boundaries at all. One day, I asked him why he did it. He said, "It's just the internet. None of it is real."
So I returned the favor one day, by posting a photo of us together that he did not want posted. It made him look other than the image that he wanted to portray. He got mad and asked me why I did it, so I replied as you could predict.
"It's just the internet. None of it is real."
Of course, he suddenly didn't see things that way and threatened me with harm if I didn't remove it. This was when I figured out that he was a Pathological Narcissist who views people as playthings in a world that is all about him.
I think that people bully online for a variety of reasons. Maybe they've lost control of their own lives, or they are depressed. Reasons aren't excuses.
I haven't used social networking for three years, and couldn't be happier. I highly recommend leaving it behind.
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When I saw this thread title I came here to evoke similar condolences. How often times the bullies themselves are hurting inside - which doesn't make their actions anymore warranted, however, I think it should provide some comfort to be reminded that while they may be targeting you, they are only harming themselves. Of course this doesn't make it easier to "take the blows" so to speak, for some.
When I saw that you said you deleted your Facebook, I thought that was a great immediate move.
Like Dermald, who I quoted, I left social media about five years ago now. I only got an instagram this past year to exhibit art and try to establish an online presence to mingle and discover art and more through it. Social media is a great thing - the sense of community that it creates in unprecedented in history, but it can obviously lead to things like bullying.
I believe what the greatest thing is about forfeiting social media is the personal growth that naturally occurs. Every day is another chance to begin or continue on to what you always wanted your life to be. And as each day comes and you make the most out of it, those that meant harm to you in the past get farther and farther away.
At this point in my life, all the troubles I experienced growing up are just relative to the present, and when you can say you are content and your present is joyful, you cannot be anything but grateful for the past because it led up to this most recent day.
Best of luck to you, and I think it might be in your best interest to stay away from social media - surely a shallow root cause to many of society's mental issues.