Why are people mean?

Question

I have been reading some of the answers to questions on here and wondered why some people are so mean, whats the saying if you've got nothing nice to say than dont seems to be fitting or maybe its worse that most of us care what other people think but is'nt that the point of this site? , No one has been rude to me yet but I am sure Im putting a target on my back with this question ,
people should be honest without being nasty ??

I feel I need to make it clear what I mean. I think a mean comment is a personal slur like I was reading one and they called some one a freak for a very reasonable question , I dont think that negative feed back is rude as long as it is an opinion and childish name calling If people think a question is stupid they dont have to answer and to one certain person I am sure my grammar and or spelling is terible but at the same time it's not that important, you seemed to know what i meant!!!!!!

Answer 1

I am much older than many who answer these questions. I am old enough to remember a time when people were nicer to others. I think what makes people more mean today has to do with a number of things. The world we have today is a massive factory for stress. Technology was intended to serve human kind by making our lives easier. In some ways it has but in majority it has raised stress levels to hights that no one imagined when they worked so hard to create that next new technological thing. The idea was that if you could create a machine that could do twice the work in a day in half the time that we would all work half days and have better, easier lives. Instead greed has created a requirement to do three times the work in half the time. Information travels at the speed of light now! Stress causes people to focus mostly on themselves and how uncomfortable they are. Stress causes people to be exausted all the time so that when they stop working all they want to do is focus on what they need to feel better. Self focused people can't or won't see the needs, desires, feelings or the love of people around them so they become very mean to people. Sometimes they don't even know they do it. Other more unfortunate times they are completely aware they are jerks but justify it because their lives are hard too. Some of them are taking the revenge they would want to take on what causes their stress on other targets that pose no threat to them because it is safe. That is where the internet comes in. Most of the poeple that type mean, horrible, threatening and even preditory things at others would NEVER do that in real life. Their computers in their homes protect them from humanity seeing what a** holes they really have become. If they did these things publically where people would really know who they are, they would loose face and embarrass themselves so they cowardly use the internet.

These are unfortunate times. I remember when people cared about how they treated others. I remember when people realized the value of outward focus. I remember when people were simply polite. Now those days are long gone and I miss them.

Answer 2

People have to agree that there are a lot of irregular questions that can answered just by using the search engine. And by posting them on Yahoo Answers, people get frustrated. So, I don't think it's a matter of being mindless or inconsiderate; People tend to forget that there are young individuals on here and young individuals have inquisitive minds be it rude or nice. This is a problem that cannot be weeded out. So, by this token, intelligent minds want to play mind games and make it inconsistant to the topic at hand to discourage the individual. Don't get me wrong, adults can do the same thing as a pre-teen or an adolecent and get treated the same way. If people think that a topic is irregular to comprehend, avoid it and move on to the next question. I'm quite sure that there are other age groups out there that will feed into their nonsense. And, No, I am not putting a "Target" on your back.

Answer 3

Sometimes people answer sarcastically. This can sometimes come across as sounding weird. Not only sarcasim but saying anything can sound mean when really its meant to be said in a different context that can only be told when you actaully talk to someone face to face for example there body language.

People answer sarcastic/mean sometimes because the questions are so ridiculously stupid that there is certainly no point in them. It shows laziness as it is a basic search on a search engine to find the answer.

So when you think you get a nasty or mean answer just forget it read it through carefully and picture some one saying it to you and it might be a lot different then you expected. But if not just ignore it after all you arent going to ever meet them.

Overall I do agree but sometimes they arent being mean they just are speking there opinion. And if that hurts then the person shouldnt have asked the question in the first place especially if it was personal.

Answer 4

From what I have observed in the past 56 years... some... put on such a role just to see how it feels... and as they mature or grow tired of being that way, take off that role, and try on another, as they seek to find themselves ... experience aspects of themselves, because they do not always have a strong sense of who they really are or want to be yet.

For some it is because they are simply mean spirited... it's their way of being. It is how they experience life. Whether it comes from their DNA or upbringing, or through a mental choice they made, when they got an 'attitude' and chose to never let it go... OR... it seems to vary from person to person.

BUT... ultimately it is how a mean spirited person relates ... in some cases they cannot help themselves ... because they do not see anything wrong with 'their own attitude'..... they can only see that which they are looking at in another they percieve to be wrong, stupid or .... and they have little tolerance of what they are seeing/hearing. Some have a need to be right... and need to make others wrong... it helps them to 'feel better' about themselves. Some are threatened by another... and thus attack ... it's a way of survival for them. Some find joy in being mean... again for various reasons.... such as wanting to be like a role model 'they think' is admirable, or were programmed to believe is a positive, powerful way of being, (a form of manipulation). Some are living out 'emotional core belief's' ... and don't know any other ways of being... (have not been exposed to positive input in such a way they could receive it), some come from a place of ignorance... insecurity... deep seeded pain.... self hate... let me reject you before you reject me... some...................

We can only imagine why ultimately, because even if asked, some only respond with meanness... and not necessarily truth, because they themselves don't know why they were or are so mean ... and many hate being this way, but have resigned themselves to it, because they lack something... and are not sure exactly what that is... some have no hope they can be any different... other's have no desire to be different, they are who they are... mean spirited... which can manifest as intolerance and rudeness.

Sometimes the encounter of a mean spirited person is just what the 'doctor' ordered ... Experiencing a mean spirited person, can help the one who becomes aware of such a negative way of being .... causing them to ponder... to look within their own heart and ......... so all is not a loss ... we seem to need an occasional mean spirited people so we and they can see the contrast, so we and they can make new conscious, educated choices, with an awareness there is hope of change ... we all can choose to be/think different... and change our habitual ways of being and thinking from moment to moment, for the benefit of the whole, and not simply ourselves. Contrast can be a gift... ultimately a benefit for all concerned, it seems.

Answer 5

I know what you mean, i do find it strange that people are so nasty so quickly. But sometimes i do wonder about the caliber of the users. For example if i were genuinely concerned for my health i would make an appointment with a doctor and find out what was wrong, i wouldn't post my symptoms on a website and ask thousands of random people to try to guess what they think i am suffering from...

So whilst i do agree i have to say that some people really do bring it on themselves. Sorry.

Answer 6

I agree with you 100%!! I, like yourself, have been reading some of the responses to some of the questions and many of them are down right ugly. Like the old saying goes, if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. People are posting questions on here in hope of resolving or finding some lead way, and I would expect them to want positive feedback, and while some of the questions may be retarded, we should still try to be positive and help them as much as we can!!!

Answer 7

yep it bugs me.
i've just answer a question, is it ok 4 a man 2 cry?
sure it is, better than bottling it all up & explode 1 day.
some of the comments are shameful.

people who R mean naturally, must have lots of problems,
2 always think in spite, b4 considering a few kind words.

I'm a firm believer in u catch more flies with Honey than with Vinegar.
nothing nice 2 say, i'll keep my mouth shut!

try not 2 let them get 2 u.
deep sigh,
people are people!

Answer 8

Sometimes people ask questions that are just so 'silly' or so 'partisan' that they seem to 'invite' people to be mean when they answer them. I try to always give 'good answers' to even the silliest questions ... but occasionally, especially when I know that the questioner is simply trying to 'manipulate me' or to use this 'question' forum to 'rant' about something, I write a 'mean' answer ... usually by correcting their misspellings and bad grammar and making the point that their 'question' is 'nonsense' and giving a couple of examples of 'better ways to ask' the question. So ... my language may be 'mean' but I am still trying to 'help them' with their problem as I see it.
But other people just like 'putting people down' for 'the fun of it' ... and that kind of meanness is simply WRONG.

Answer 9

It could be in their genes or it could be in their upbringing. On the other hand we don't always understand why people get aggrieved at what we say. Some questions do things like poke fun at the Queen or other prominent figures and it isn't the way many of us like to go and so we are rude and arrogant in return. Of course we should not be but we think it obvious that many of us won't like the idea of slandering someone who is not there to reply themselves

Answer 10

It depends what you mean by 'being mean.' If the question invites opinions ('What do you think about immigration? for example) then people are entitled to say what they think. If they say that they do not want any immigrants here, they are NOT being mean - they are giving the opinion that they have been INVITED to give.

However, if you are referring to those people who are just plain rude / horrible to people for no clear reason, then I can only think that they are probably nasty people in real life and the sort that you would probably have nothing to do with in your own life.