Passive Agressive Internet

Something that I think most of us who have used the internet can either admit to or admit to witnessing are the vague and ambiguous status updates/ tweets that riddle your feed. Personally, I have come across dozens of tweets and updates that are painfully generic and have no real substance, but you can tell from the tone that they are about something or someone very specific.

Full disclosure, I have to admit that I have committed this act of fodder distribution a few times in my life. But the interesting part of it all is that, in my case, it stopped. Without warning or consciousness, the passive aggressive tendencies of my early social media experience fell away. Now I know that sounds pretentious and sounds like I am trying to place myself above others, but in all honesty, the way I use social media has changed as well.

In my earlier days of social media, I used it as my primary source of friend interaction. Being a shy, introverted person, Facebook gave me time to think about these people and didn't force me to make split decisions on the spot. I think this comfortable atmosphere was and continues to be a very attractive aspect of social media as opposed to face-to-face interaction. But this comfort has created a new level of sharing that has been unprecedented up until now.

To make a delicate and hot topic very brief, "Princess/Super Hero" culture has created the sense that everyone needs to stand out and be special. Sorry, I didn't want to go into a deep discussion about princess culture even though I think it is a vital part of what I am trying to get at. People feel the need to be different and special and social media is a great way for people to try to flex their "special muscle" in an attempt to get noticed. This desire leads people to share more and more of their lives which can create problems if that information is sensitive or embarrassing. Now what is a person to do? If they can't share that they secretly like someone who is friends with them on social media, how is that person ever going to find out? This desire and "problem", together have formed a passive aggressive internet and in turn a passive aggressive user and human being.

Posting something like "I can't believe you don't know" is bland compared to what may actually exist online, but my point can still be seen. This ambiguity creates confusion for people who follow you and then that curiosity breeds comments and questions. "What's wrong?" and "You can talk to me" start flooding your notifications and then those commenters are caught in the guilt/confusion trap laid by the original poster. Then the poster can drag them along even more with a response like "it doesn't even matter" or even something simple as a frowning emoticon.

Now the person who sent out that tweet has received the medicine they needed. The desire to be special was satisfied by the comments from others asking how you were or how they were there to help you. Social media is filled with people with the desire for attention and sympathy and they have found a way to say nothing at all and hold your attention for their own vanity.