Why do some put others down? How can we cultivate a kinder society? Protect ourselves from negativity, while staying compassionate?

[Anonymous]

Why do so many individuals seem to be drowning in a sea of toxicity and self-loathing? It's as though we've become a society that thrives on putting others down, all while secretly battling our own feelings of inadequacy. Everywhere you turn, people are striving for unattainable goals and obsessing over their every move. And when someone actually achieves something, instead of celebrating their success, we're met with a barrage of insults and hateful comments. It makes me wonder: have we lost our ability to be genuinely happy for others? Why has our world become so consumed with negativity and cynicism? And most importantly, what can we do to turn things around? and how we can protect ourselves with such sick minded toxic individuals?

[designer1]

Unfortunately, there are so many people that are simply unhappy with theirselves and their place in life. I find that this is the main reason for internet “trolling” or bullying in general. Putting others down temporarily makes people feel less badly about themselves. Putting others down is a quicker fix than looking inward and addressing their own insecurities.



Another reason people feel the need to put others down is when they hear something they strongly disagree with. Instead of strongly disagreeing with the thing that they are saying, people often tend to feel strongly opposed to the person who said it. When this happens, especially on social media, people will quickly put others down in order to prove someone wrong. Likewise, if someone else is disagreeing with us, it is easy to feel attacked on a personal level if we carry what they are disagreeing with close to our personal values. When people feel like they are being attacked it is easy to react in anger and try to shut them down.



Fear is also a huge driver for hateful words and actions. History has shown this over and over again and it still happens. Fear of the unknown resulting from impending change will make people resort to using last ditch tactics to keep things the same. These tactics can include tearing others down. For example: legalizing gay marriage. Some people hated this and in turn started using hateful language towards the people involved or towards the people who supported this out of fear for what this would change.


If we all just practiced mindfulness, I truly believe we’d see a change in the amount of negativity circling the internet and infesting our everyday lives. We all need to practice asking ourselves why we feel the way we do before we lash out on others.

[Katebfun]

Pray. Meditate. Raise your vibration and naturally you'll repell negativity.

[Nikki1989]

Truly horrible people are the minority, but sadly they tend to be the loudest and most annoying.

[BarryLiverstone]

You mean irl or online?

[Asker]

generally, both irl and online

[BarryLiverstone]

I haven’t seen this irl. Online we all know it’s a lack of accountability