I’ve noticed a pattern. Every now and then, someone leaves a rude, mean, or snarky comment on one of my posts. Occasionally, out of curiosity, I’ll check their post history, and it’s almost always nothing but negativity. They never seem to have anything positive or kind to say about anything, whether it’s politics, hobbies, personal anecdotes, or whatever else. It’s just a constant stream of bitterness and hostility. After seeing so many accounts like this, it got me wondering: what do people actually get out of being like that? The idea of willingly immersing yourself in that much negativity is genuinely alien to me.
Perhaps it’s similar to the reasons why media outlets overwhelmingly report bad news over good news. People don’t care when things are going right. People react much more when things are going wrong.
In social media I imagine that most of the positive feedback people give takes the form of likes and upvotes, with only occasional comments, while the bulk of commentary is used for criticism and confrontation. At least in the context of doomscrolling through things like memes or political garbage. Forums where engagement itself is the norm, like philosophy or hobbies, probably get way more positive comments. But where impulsive reaction is the norm? Positivity comes in the form of thumbs up emojis, and comments are for arguing. XD