Let’s Look under the Lid!

Philosophers and psychologists also warn against the dangers of hate: people’s bottled-up, long-held feelings of resentment, jealousy or vindictiveness can develop into “hate reserves.” The emotions they keep there have a “long shelf life” and can be released again and again when exposed to outside influences. This can even happen when the original reason for the hate is long gone. These stored-up hate reserves can permanently influence and change people’s thinking and behavior. They are a ticking time bomb: if they are “reactivated” by internet content, they often discharge the pent-up emotions inside of them in a highly aggressive and unchecked manner.

And because the internet is so omnipresent, hate ultimately affects all of us—online and offline, cats and humans alike. Therefore, far from being a marginal problem, online hate is a challenge to our coexistence.