The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken seriously. ~Samuel Butler
One of the biggest problems in the world today is that people don't seem to be able to laugh at themselves.
There are some people who take everything so seriously that they have become high-strung. They have become neurotic. They constantly worry about what other people think about them. They want to interact with others, but, they have become very thin skinned and are easily offended.
According to the online Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary, the definition of neurosis is as follows:
"A psychological or behavioral disorder in which anxiety is the primary characteristic; defense mechanisms or any phobias are the adjustive techniques that a person learns to cope with this underlying anxiety. In contrast to the psychoses, people with a neurosis do not exhibit gross distortion of reality or gross disorganization of personality but in severe cases, those affected may be as disabled as those with a psychosis."
Let me clarify this for you: The Internet is supposed to be the greatest information library that the world has ever known. It is filled with reports from every scientific institute on the globe. There are innumerable research papers available. There are ancient manuscripts. There are archaeological and anthropological reports from excavations in the Holy Land. There are entomological studies on aquatic insects.
There are books from the public domain freely available... some literary classics... the works of Shakespeare and other poets and playwrights. There is music from every corner of the world.
...and, then, there is social media...
There are people online who seem to take delight in attacking others. They find some sort of morbid pleasure in the misfortune of others. They like causing stress and anxiety in others. They exhibit anti-social behavior for sport.
I have seen this on occasion in the workplace, but, I witness this virtually every day on the Internet. These people are miserable or bored-- probably both.
My advice to anyone and everyone online is to remember the words of Samuel Butler (the quote at the beginning of this post). Indeed, nothing is to be taken seriously.
Don't feed the trolls and don't let other people bother you. If you don't react, they won't receive the reactions they crave. In the end, you'll be happier and they will go attack someone who reacts.
