Why do people make nasty comments

This makes it much easier for comment sections to be a breeding ground for venting negative emotions and anger. For example, imagine going to return an item at a store and venting your anger at the person working the customer service desk while everyone is watching. You would only go so far before someone would step in. However, this is what people do on Facebook Business pages all the time without much thought about how the message is being received or perceived by others on social media.

Next, there is the mob mentality that forms in the comments sections, which contributes to their overall negativity. When one person says something negative, this opens the floodgates for others to do the same.

Sites where anonymity is more preserved will tend to have more negative comments. For example, researchers found the highest number of rude comments and insults on YouTube. The final factor influencing the negativity of the comment section is the personality of those who post comments. Commenters are actually a minority of those who are online, tend to be male, have a lower level of education, and lower income than those reading comments.

Commenters are also sometimes trolls who enjoy making people uncomfortable and are only there for this purpose. After all, why would you spend time on something that is making you feel bad?

If we can understand how comments affect our mental health, then we can tweak our actions to end up feeling better. Negative comments can work in much the same way. If you find yourself constantly reading comments when you should be working or are feeling bored, then you might be addicted to the comment section. Reading negative comments online has the effect of making you feel more negative.

And if you become addicted to reading negative comments online, you may even end up facing some symptoms of depression. Reading negative comments online might also leave you feeling anxious, particularly if you read comments that create fear or make you question your own choices.

Those who are predisposed to anxiety disorders e. When is the last time you read a full-length novel? If you spend most of your time reading negative comments online, you will also find it harder to pay attention to things that require a longer attention span. The good thing is that spending time doing hobbies that don't involve a short attention span can reverse some of this damage to your attention span. If you end up reading negative comments about yourself online, you could end up feeling less confident or have reduced self-esteem.

For this reason it's important to check in with yourself about how you are feeling before and after reading comments online. If you feel worse about yourself after reading someone's comment, that's a good sign to avoid that comment section or person.

If you struggle with your body image and then read negative comments online about how you look or how other people look, this may worsen your thoughts. Distorted thoughts about your body image may lead to disordered eating patterns and other related problems. This can be the first step toward an eating disorder for those who are already vulnerable. How can you know if reading negative comments online is affecting your mental health?

The best thing to do is to be aware of the signs and symptoms of addiction , depression , anxiety, attention deficit , poor self esteem , and body image problems to keep a close eye on how they are making you feel.

If you feel as though reading negative comments online is impacting your mental health negatively, what can you do about it? Below are some suggestions of actions that you can take today to minimize the impact of reading these types of comments online if you are struggling.

Different social and news platforms will attract different types of people in the comment sections. If you are concerned about reading negative comments online, stay away from platforms with an anonymous element, since people will have less reason to censor themselves when they realize nobody knows who they are. This may seem oversimplified, but one way to ease yourself out of an addiction to reading negative comments would be to set a time limit to how long you will allow yourself to read, respond to, or think about online comments.

For example, you might decide that you will only spend five minutes reading comments on social media, and avoid comments on news outlets websites altogether. Research has shown that having strong attitudes and values will make it less likely that you will be swayed by what you read in the comment section. For this reason, do your research and educate yourself on topics outside of the comment section. Read trusted sources of information and form your own opinion rather than relying on what you learn from the comment sections of news sites or social media pages.

If you want to reduce the negative impact of reading online comments, one of the best things you can do is to focus only on reading positive comments. Comments from friends who offer social support will increase your well-being and have a positive effect.

These comments are best if they come from people who you are close to and friends with in real life. By the same token, there is value in protecting yourself from negative comments on your own social media pages.

Do you want to start a positivity train for others as well? Positive comments will inspire more positive comments, and the first comment in a thread is critical for shaping how all other people respond.

Seeing more positive comments will encourage others to be positive as well. The side benefit will be that you end up reading more positive comments overall if you are creating them yourself.

Beyond limiting how much time you spend reading comments , you can also limit your screen time in general to reduce the amount of time you spend reading negative things online. There are multiple problems with excessive screen time, such as problems sleeping after blue light exposure at night and reduced motivation to do other tasks. Schedule media-free time slots in your day when you will not go on your devices.

Then go and do something like go for a walk in nature, do some meditation , write in a journal, or call a friend. When all else fails, keep in mind that sometimes it's best to just walk away. If you have done all you can to make the person aware of his or her actions and you have tried to show kindness and empathy, it may be that this person is just incapable of treating you and others with politeness and good manners.

By avoiding habitually rude people, you take away their audience and give them fewer targets to lash out at. A lack of an audience will also defuse the situation. If everyone around them begins giving them a wide berth, perhaps it will be a wake-up call. And if not, it will at least help everyone else have a better day. Jayson DeMers. Isaiah Hankel. Kim Lachance Shandrow. Tim Madden. Daniel Scott.

Sally French. Skip to content Profile Avatar. Subscribe to Entrepreneur. Magazine Subscriptions. By Deep Patel July 22, Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. He is the founder of the wellness brand Penguin CBD. The company was rated the No. Patel also worked with companies like Cellucor maker of C4 and A. More About difficult people. Reimagining the Way We Work. Jayson DeMers Oct 26, Isaiah Hankel Jan 19, Main Street Entrepreneur.

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