Microsoft Survey Shows Negative Online Interactions Affect People In Real Life (computerworld.com)

"Preliminary results of a new Microsoft survey show nearly two-thirds of people surveyed had at least one negative online experience that had an impact on them in the real world, ranging from a loss of trust in others, increased stress or sleep deprivation," reports Computerworld. Microsoft's chief online safety officer writes: Both adults and teens said they became less trusting of others in the real world after a negative interaction online (adults: 31%, teens: 29%). Consequences to adults that outpaced those to teens included the older generation becoming less trusting of people online (42% of adults vs. 37% of youth), and a reluctance to participate in blogs and other online forums (23% of adults vs. 20% of teens)... The study, "Civility, Safety and Interaction Online -- 2016," polled youth ages 13-17 and adults ages 18-74 in 14 countries... Half reported being "extremely or very" worried about online risks generally, with the most common concerns being unwanted contact (43%) and various forms of harassment (39%).
Microsoft's blog post urges people to "Embrace digital civility and model healthy behaviors for young people both online and off" -- and also notes that today is World Kindness Day.

Comments

And even worse for business

[NotInHere]

I'm sure that people who had negative interactions online are horrible for your ad based business.

Re:Anonymity, even partial, equals cruelty

[Mashiki]

You ah...looked at FB page? Or even a FB comments system on various sites including news sites in the last oh 8 years, where peoples real names are included. That's some of the most vitriolic stuff you'll ever see, because people can be identified and in turn can be intimidated. Hell look at the number of cases where someone has been "identified" for posting something that's contrary to another person, and they'll get their friends/followers/etc to try and get them fired for it. Much more difficult to do if you're anonymous. FYI: Raping and pillaging wasn't because people didn't know who was doing it. It was precisely because the loser would know exactly who was doing it to them. The entire point was intimidation, fear, and imposing their power over individuals. An individual doing it would be a nameless person in that crowd, but everyone knew who was doing it.

Re:Only if you let them

[CanadianRealist]

they can't hurt you IF YOU CHOOSE to not let the words hurt you

True. But that's easier said than done and many people who know the rhyme still are hurt by name calling and criticism, even if they have "chosen" not to be.

The issue there is privacy, you shouldn't be putting personally identifiable info online

You don't need to put any personal information online to be subject to abuse. If you post anything anywhere where people are allowed to comment on it, you can be subject to negative comments. You've posted anonymously. I could still have been offended by your comment and gone off on a rant and started calling you names. If you checked back to see if anybody had replied to your comment you would see that. If you are completely immune to such attacks, that's great. I suspect that quite a few people are not.

I also avoid putting personally identifiable info online because of concerns like what potential future employers might think of my personal views.