COLUMN: Why are we all so horrid?

One worrying side effect of our web generation is the increased opportunity to be perfectly horrid to each other.

Presumably it was already a factor in many people’s personalities - they just lacked the opportunity to tear others apart with malicious venom in the perceived anonymity of cyberspace.

Before the internet, presumably these individuals vented their spleen behind people’s backs ,stuck needles into voodoo dolls and pushed heads down toilets.

Or maybe social media just turns perfectly nice people into bullies.

But confirmation is in - manners are out and indiscriminate rudeness is in, with a side order in often manufacturedchippy moral outrage.

So a word to the wise - nobody is really anonymous online and just because you haven’t met a person doesn’t mean they can’t hear you or be hurt. Be kind.

Adults are bad enough but amongst children, nastiness is at all time high.

The NSPCC held 12,000 counselling sessions with young people who talked to Childline about online issues last year and this year looks to be much higher.

The Cult of Horrid is permeating through society and we are all falling villain or victim.

Worryingly we all act like lemmings. When one person posts a nasty comment on a thread, many others tend to follow, gaining courage as part of a bigger band of bullies and jumping off the cliff of decent behaviour.

However on the flipside, kindness is showing its face through the narrative.

Sometimes a Facebook Post or Twitter thread proves that strangers can be perfectly lovely to each other and make an impact on other people’s lives.

This week a sweet post about the nostalgia of Christmas shopping in M&S and memories of a late parent saw hundred of strangers sharing their loves, losses and emotional triggers - the thread gaining momentum across the site and drowning out the negativity for a moment.

It was a shot of joy across the bows of the haters.

As Winnie the Pooh wisely said, “A little thought and consideration for others makes all the difference.”