Beneath the mask

祝尚珍

Here comes a famous saying of Bill Gates， on the internet， you never know who you are chatting with， a person or a dog.I used to regard this saying as a ridiculous joke， for humanity will not fade， in which I have faith.However， as more and more tragedies concerns internet violence emerges， I have no choice but to believe what he said.Internet puts masks on all of us， behind cold screens and fibers， it is impossible for others to know who we really are.It reminds me of a fascinating movie—V for Vendetta.V is a courageous fighter for democracy under his mask.Who are the netizens under their masks on earth？ Or the masks make them who they are.

Where does the internet violence come from？ Obviously， deindividuation is believed to be the chief reason.There are incalculable people on the internet， which gives them the feeling that they are just a small drop of water in the vast ocean and nobody can identify them.As a result， not only do they lose a clear recognition of their identity， but lose the sense of responsibility about online behaviors and words as well， because no one knows them anyway.Consequently， wearing masks， some netizens become more and more violent， aggressive， and ruthless.

Therefore， masks provide them with a great opportunity to show a vicious but real part of their personality that they try hiding in their daily lives. They just express what they want without any sense of responsibility， from which they gain malformed happiness.More significantly， there is no doubt that the power of internet violence is strong enough to destroy the whole world.

Truly， sharp-tongued internet violence can completely destroy the victims psychological defense.Even worse， it can push victims to death.For instance， there was an unfortunate girl who suffered from sexual harassment on campus.For the sake preventing the same things from happening again， she choose to bravely post her experience on the internet to remind others.To her astonishment， many netizens held the opinion that the girl should tolerate it， because they were convinced that hooligan was more unfortunate， and the hooligan choose to harass girls to release all unhappiness in his life.The evil words nearly destroyed the poor girl.It never came to her mind that the sacrifice of her self-esteem can lead to those evil words .In fact， that poor girl is me， because of those anonymous vicious words I started to doubt humanity and did want to die at that time.So if there is someone who knows clearly about the power of internet violence， I am one.

Despite the thorny words are malicious enough to hurt others， the internet violence that wears seemingly justified intention is more deadly and more provocative as well.

It is possible that countless kind-hearted netizens intentionally refuse evil words and behaviors， but they are also kind-hearted to join in a seemingly justified internet activity.In reality， doing something kind and justice is costly， which requires money， time and energy.Whereas， compared with high price in reality， the cost of doing good online is extremely low.Only one comment can satisfy moral vanity， which can bring temporary pleasure to them.Moreover， this temporary and meaningless pleasure doesnt need netizens to take the consequence of behavior into account， for their responsibility of justice has been done after commenting.Additionally， the truth of the incident doesnt matter at all for netizens， who dont even have desire to explore.What they persue is just pleasure that can turn out their moral superiority.

Take a famous singer Xue Zhiqian as an example.In order to vent his dissatisfaction about a nurse， he launched a person-searching action as a network celebrity in a large scale.He misled public opinion to the illusion that nurse was irresponsible.Thence， countless Internet users vigorously engaged in this person-searching activity， but none of them ever thought what they did brought a devastating strike to that nurses career.As a matter of fact， a responsible nurse met an impatient celebrity on that day.Using his influence and anger of public， Xue vented private grudge on an innocent nurse.Beneath netizens justice masks， it is the pleasure of justice that is what they are fond of.

Wearing masks， netizens can wantonly do anything without taking responsibility， because deindividuation has deprived them of self-recognition.Who benefits from internet violence？ Merciless perpetrator， poor victim or indifferent bystander？ The answer is nobody， because everyone is at the mercy of the internet in the virtual world.Wearing the mask that the internet make for them inspires the most secret part of human nature.Beneath the mask， netizens are not who they are in daily life any more. The masks make them.