How has the internet liberated people's inhibitions to say and do things they wouldn't normally do in public?
476988
because they are not face to face with the other person
1090816
The dwindling lack of social skills brought about by our increasing use of communications and internet technology.  How much face-to-face interaction do we have anymore to carry out our responsibilities at work and at home?  Nearly all tasks of our daily lives can be conducted via email, internet, IM, etc.  Even though the world is becoming "smaller", we, as individuals, are becoming more isolated from one another.
583274
not completely sure...people can get away with making racist, classist, homophobic comments on the internet, since it's not a visual interface.  it's actually very cowardly - people can express how they really feel on the internet because they're too afraid to do it in real life.\n\nalso, i think there are alot of 14-year-old suburban white kids on here who don't have enough to do after school.
994733
Since the internet is impersonal, some people think they can reveal their true nature/personality instead of adhering to the common decency they would accord someone that they are talking to face-to-face.  They lose all their inhibitions and forget to treat others like they would like to be treated...instead, they indulge their desires to be obnoxious and rude.
412524
I think it will eventually.  \nI'm seeing it a lot with my generation already.  In person, peopele are awkward and sensor themselves too much.  It's like everyone is afraid of expressing what they really think for fear of the other person's reaction.  Online however, people tend to be more open.  We tend to say what we think to people we know and strangers alike.  I think this is because we don't have to see their expression.  Online we are given the option to be whoever we want to... and a lot of the time we are more able present a truer side of ourself because we're not so conscience of the fact that we may be being judged.  Since we have the internet for an 'outlet', we no longer require ourselves to be ourselves.  We allow our peers to see what it is that we want them to see and show our real self online more than in person.  The irony of this is we're being more open with complete strangers (who we used to try to make our best first impression on) than we are with the people closest to us (who used to know us best).
836524
No. how could someone become mentally ill FroM tHe iNtErNet!?!?\nhe he he, i mean, ahhh i went outside 3 days ago to get the newspaper!! *Breathing hard*\nand and.. i feel FINE!!!\nRAWR
111112
It continues to impact use.  Since the internet is part of telecommunication in the broader sense, it has affected you right now as you are reading this.  The distance between people grows less and less everyday.
528058
Unfortunately, the anonymous nature of the Internet gives people, young and old, a false sense of liberty. I doubt that most people would be so rude if they were interacting face-to-face. I think people are rude for the same reason people drive aggressively on the road. The enclosed space of the car and home isolates and divides. We wouldn't cut in line at the DMV or waiting in the checkout. We wouldn't call someone fat (out loud) in a classroom or business office. Because people can hide behind an avatar or screen name, they think they can behave poorly. People have no shame when they can hide and disappear in a virtual world. It makes one wonder about the intrinsic nature of man and whether he chooses to be good because of social pressures or because he is intrinsically good natured.
642328
I can't tell if there is really a serious question in here or not, but I will answer as if there is.\n\nI think the Internet is causing more people to become anti-social in the real world and more dependent on the (nearly) instant gratification we can get in here...porn, electronics overnight, movies on demand, the list goes on.\n\nAlso, people are starting to become dependent on the "relationships" they form in here in chat rooms and dating sites and spending less time with friends and family.  \n\nBottom line is, people were designed to be social, moving creatures, experiencing new people, sites, tastes and smells. Not sat in one place for hours chatting with total strangers who we know little about.  It's rotting our minds and moderation is the key, just like anything else in life.\n\nWe're all going to hell in a hand basket and the only thing that will stop the downfall of society is if mother nature steps in and takes away the power.  Then we'd be back to hand tools and horses and we'd all know and trust our neighbors a whole lot more.\n\nI'll step off my soap box now...sorry.
169713
Great question. It's a study in human behavior, and the Yahoo executives are being briefed in their offices probably as we debate the subject. One aspect is being able to discuss any topic anonymously. You may wonder how the public at large thinks about things and your willing to give information as you learn new things. So it's sort of like a free Ebay where thoughts, ideas and information are being traded rather than goods and services. It can certainly be addictive since you want to know things and you think you know things other people don't. I think it's just another example of how the Internet can benefit society, and congratulations to Yahoo for providing this open forum for us to communicate in.
614224
It's computers. Nothing you can really do about it. It sometimes depends on how many people are using the Internet at the time.
237082
INTERNET\nThe Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer networks - a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer (and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers). It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANET. The original aim was to create a network that would allow users of a research computer at one university to be able to "talk to" research computers at other universities. A side benefit of ARPANet's design was that, because messages could be routed or rerouted in more than one direction, the network could continue to function even if parts of it were destroyed in the event of a military attack or other disaster. \n\nToday, the Internet is a public, cooperative, and self-sustaining facility accessible to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Physically, the Internet uses a portion of the total resources of the currently existing public telecommunication networks. Technically, what distinguishes the Internet is its use of a set of protocols called TCP/IP (for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Two recent adaptations of Internet technology, the intranet and the extranet, also make use of the TCP/IP protocol.\n\nFor many Internet users, electronic mail (e-mail) has practically replaced the Postal Service for short written transactions. Electronic mail is the most widely used application on the Net. You can also carry on live "conversations" with other computer users, using Internet Relay Chat (IRC). More recently, Internet telephony hardware and software allows real-time voice conversations. \n\nThe most widely used part of the Internet is the World Wide Web (often abbreviated "WWW" or called "the Web"). Its outstanding feature is hypertext, a method of instant cross-referencing. In most Web sites, certain words or phrases appear in text of a different color than the rest; often this text is also underlined. When you select one of these words or phrases, you will be transferred to the site or page that is relevant to this word or phrase. Sometimes there are buttons, images, or portions of images that are "clickable." If you move the pointer over a spot on a Web site and the pointer changes into a hand, this indicates that you can click and be transferred to another site.\n\nUsing the Web, you have access to millions of pages of information. Web browsing is done with a Web browser, the most popular of which are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. The appearance of a particular Web site may vary slightly depending on the browser you use. Also, later versions of a particular browser are able to render more "bells and whistles" such as animation, virtual reality, sound, and music files, than earlier versions.
446339
Well, the internet is a wonderous thing. Like you said, you can use it for almost anything, and the answer to everything you want to know is right at your fingertips. The likelihood for all of us is that we will become dependant on it in some way. Net addiction is a real and serious thing, and some people do let it take over their lives. When one finds one's self neglecting real life friends and obligations it's time to step back from the PC for a breather. I find it easiest to turn off the computer completely so I'm not so tempted to sit down and have one quick game every time I have to come into the computer room for something.
679978
With so much going on on the Internet now days it's hard not to form strong bonds with people you've met or even only known on line. Meeting people on line is interesting. There are some that see the Internet as a media to be whomever they've always wanted to be. Others use the Internet to truly be themselves, either way talking to people on line seems to be without the barriers that you find in the real world..which understandably leads to strong feelings at times. Unfortunately I've found that heartbreak on line is just as common if not more so than heartbreak in the real world.
74514
I wonder what was past before Internet?
286219
Well when using a public or work computer, I try to stay professional and only visit sites that I wouldn't feel funny about someone else seeing.  But I have on occasion erased the history, not that I was looking at porn or something else like that, but we all like to keep our business our own.
339861
Not being hit on by strange men on the internet.