Fear No Evil
As humanity’s longest-running unofficial social experiment, the internet has been a centrifuge of calamity since the 1990s. Like the Americas in the 1500s or the western frontiers in the 1880s, explorers have always been drawn to the undiscovered terrains of the web. Unlike land expeditions, browsing domains, pages, web browsers, and online forums posed no physical threat. However, it offered a similar sense of adventure and exploration. A new age of human dominion was born. Now anyone, regardless of their financial status, education level, or lack of combat training, could explore the world from the comfort of a swiveling desk chair.
However, the moral integrity of these explorers, like Christopher Columbus and Hernán Cortés, doesn’t have an exemplary track record. Anonymous behind their screens and fueled by a surge of unfounded hubris, internet explorers aren’t much different, turning online spaces into cesspools of disease. They amplify the darkest facets of human nature, platforming cruelty, power grabs, and greed. Clearly, that’s a far cry from the original intent of a multinational kumbaya of global handholding and world peace.
Via u/AzmanJaka
Luckily though, like all things created by mankind, there is a balance between good and evil, even on the internet. As complex as humanity’s own moral compass, the internet’s bad side is conversely mirrored with its wholesome parts. When it comes to online humanity, people just need to know where to look and which fellow internet users to trust. With social trust and relational bonds, the internet acts according to its noble intention, fortifying communities, enhancing education, and helping support thoughtful communication.
Internet Friends
Humans are social pack animals, relying more on other humans than they care to admit. It’s in our nature to seek human connection, and with the internet, it’s never been easier to locate likeminded comrades and kindred souls. “The more time people spend on the Internet, the more interpersonal communications there are,” says Chao Li, behavioral researcher published with the National Library of Medicine. “Interpersonal communications are essential to building social networks, which is also a necessary channel to help people establish social trust and enhance their sense of belonging and happiness.” Social trust and communal belonging are critical to human happiness, and like real world social groups, internet communities can help validate difficult choices and guide one another on the path of life.
Human-run forums, like Reddit, have some of the most tight-knit communities online, reflecting the core values of wholesome internet connectivity. “People go to Reddit as group therapy because it feels like a safe emotional outlet,” according to ZenCare. Behind the anonymous usernames, emotional distance, and lack of real-life consequences, forums have become a safe, noble, and genuine space online. Reddit subs like r/OffMyChest, r/Confession, and even niche communities like r/bald showcase humanity’s best side, providing support, empathy, and meaningful rapport for lonely internet surfers who need it.
Via u/gloom.qc
Alas, the wholesomeness of early internet connection and community is not fully lost, it’s simply hiding. It seems that the deeper you’re willing to dive into your passions, problems, and therapeutic moments, the more you can find on the internet that best suits your individual woes. That being said, dive with a grain of salt because sometimes you need an actual professional’s advice. Don’t forget that these internet forums are mostly just regular old people like you and me, we do not recommend self-diagnosing or using WebMD as your primary doctor or therapist. However, with the more lighthearted issues in life, online communities can be the perfect source for a little extra help. Struggling with perspective in your drawings? Cruise by a niche subreddit to bounce your creative blockage off of your online peers like the passionate artist, u/SpaceDev1, who went viral for their wonky fan art of Frieren, the beloved manga character from Beyond Journey’s End.
Via u/SpaceDev1
Another Redditor who has rocked the forums recently is the now-famous “Chive Guy.” Originally seeking internet approval and expert advice on r/KitchenConfidential, u/F1exican, decided he would chop one cup of chives every day, posting the results on Reddit, until they were perfect. Not unsurprisingly, after nearly two months of chive chopping, multiple sponsored deals, and millions of user feedback comments, Chive Guy is pretty much a master chef, chopping green onions with expertise and confidence.
Via u/F1exican
While it’s not always advisable to partake in too much doomscrolling or to self-diagnose problems with self-proclaimed experts, the internet is chock full of wholesome content. Confidence-boosting personal transformations, heartfelt reunion stories, and animal rescue tales uplift our spirits and remind us of the world’s positivity. Through niche communities and within online forums, internet users can not only find kinship, but they can also find answers, forge relationships, get support, and fine tune their skills in pretty much any specialty.
Gathering Goodness
Often poisoned by rampant toxicity and maliciousness the internet is equal parts goodness, providing a foundation for prevailing wholesomeness and good intentions. Found in the most random corners of the internet, the elements that make up the best part of the internet are synonymous with the best parts of humanity. Even if you’re on the other side of the world, traversing the desert, or sailing into the vastness of the sea you can still find connection, kindness, kinship, and a perfectly chopped cup of onions online through the good-natured glue that binds humans together.