Is the world angrier or is it

Just me?

There has been a creep towards angry or dismissive replies to posts on here lately.
I also have had an angry reply to a request on pfm. Nothing extraordinary, but completely unnecessary and incorrect in fact, with the advice to ignore the internet reviews, manufacturers statements and designers stated design parameters.

Is this a new trend or am I just getting old and over sensitive?

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It seems to be an increasing trend and was being discussed on the radio today.

Sometimes we just need to take a breath.

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There is a lot of anger around unfortunately, with lots of people in a difficult place.

That said, an alarming amount of posts are written in a really demanding way (I need an answer now!!) or show a total lack of any work on the posterā€™s part to figure out what might be wrong before asking others to spend their time helping. Some seem to treat forum members as a help desk, never saying please or thank you. Maybe they believe we are paid to answer their dopey questions.

Asking nicely will always get a better response and I must confess to occasionally giving snarky answers to particularly demanding or lazy questions, if I bother to answer at all, which I usually donā€™t.

Iā€™m sure your question was lovely though!!

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Surprisingly perhaps this wasnā€™t a reference to your replies to me, with just the one exception re the A5ā€™s. I know your views and you donā€™t need to remind me of them :slight_smile:
We or perhaps I, do have a tendency to give all of my undoubted wisdom when only asked for one part of it, but it is the aggressiveness which I note to have increased generally.

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Donā€™t worry, I never thought it was. There is a lot of grumpiness around, but what gets under my skin is a sense of entitlement. There seems to be a lot more of it around, both here and more generally, than there used to be. That said, once sensitised to something you tend to see it a lot more. Itā€™s an innate part of behaviour.

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Well, no ā€¦ its not just youā€¦ Because I agreeā€¦ And not just on the Naim Forum.

Too many write ā€˜demandingā€™ posts, showing either a lack or effort or knowledge (or both) - and then get arsey when they donā€™t get the sort of replies they feel they deservedā€¦

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Theyā€™d probably get even more arsey if they got the response they really deservedā€¦

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Anger is a natural reaction to feelings of fear, feeling threatened or feeling youā€™re in an unjust or powerless position. With all that has been going on in the last couple of years, it wouldnā€™t surprise me if all those feelings have increased considerably in people, and hence we are angrier than we would otherwise be.

The best way to deal with feelings of anger is to address it head on through increasing our self-awareness. Essentially it is a loss of control so if you find yourself getting angry, disengage and take some deep breaths and as you start to feel calmer then express yourself as clearly as you can - yes, itā€™s much easier said than done, but this is where improving self awareness really helps.

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You have been to one of my counselling sessions?

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Not sure what looks like a piss take is the best response! Are you part of the problem?!

It wasnā€™t a piss take. I was a counsellor and Richards comments are entirely good advice.

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Unfortunately yes people are getting more angry
If angry is the correct word I think itā€™s more the case off more selfish and only me counts, in my line off work Iā€™ve noticed it more with dealing with the public there seams to be a sort off covid lead selfishness itā€™s all about me type off thing going on that manifests itself as a very rude type off anger
In a way I canā€™t blame some people as they might off lost a lot or loved one. The only thing I do hope is that it does not last or get any worse

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A tip I always use on email, but expands to Forum, is to write your reply in draft, and get it out your system. Then leave it for 30 mins, then come back to it. Often then I realise what rubbish I was writing, or at the very least I would take out all the emotive words and change them to be generic and polite.

I must add that this didnā€™t occur often, but I found it does work.

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One of my former work colleagues had a 10 minute send delay on his email account just in case there was ā€œOhhhh Nooo!ā€ moment :slightly_smiling_face:

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I, infrequently, do that and some other bugger sneaks in with the answer.

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I saw a few rip into you about your speakers, which I thought was a bit sad.

Richard is right though, there has been a lot of fear engrained into society over the last two years, and this can manifest as grumpiness and anger etc. We can, and should, respond with empathy as best we can. Although fear is a natural part of the human experience, we can learn not to have it control our actions and see that it is not what defines us as human, and ultimately is not real.

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Thanks Mike. Speaker or any other comment about kit doesnā€™t concern me unless itā€™s endlessly repeated.

Iā€™m a big boy now, but the overall level of aggression and dissing of other peoples choices without any positive advice grinds. The internet can be a powerful tool and often a combination of negativity can affect people on the receiving end. Play nice, or as my Mum used to say. If you have nothing good to say, then say nothing.

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I think the whole Internet/ social media environment can exacerbate anger, rudeness and incivility in exchanges and discussions. Iā€™m convinced that if members were actually in the same room with each other , politeness would be more evident.

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Iā€™ve certainly found the ā€˜outside worldā€™ to be a lot angrier, I cannot believe how much poor driving or aggressive driving there seems to be now, I think a lot of skills and tolerance has been lost.

The pandemic has taken a toll on our mental health as a whole.

As for the forum, I donā€™t think much has changed to be honest.

Certain people can be quite blunt/direct but thatā€™s their style I think rather than innate anger, Iā€™ll sometimes reply in kind but when youā€™ve been here for some time you know that people are virtually all well-intentioned and just asserting their honest opinions even if you donā€™t like the answers you get.

Personally I know Iā€™ll go from slightly opinionated/generally helpful to downright silly at times which may amuse or annoy depending on your stance, but I canā€™t be serious and miserable all the time :smile_cat:

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Specifically on the Naim forum I donā€™t think much has changed over the years - I think my first post on the old forum was met with a somewhat supercilious comment to ā€˜try a searchā€™.