The internet, its detractors claim, is the reason the world has turned hatefully cold.

According to them, it is the reason cancel culture exists; why everyone can’t help but disparage others for the most absurd of motivations. The internet has ruined us by bestowing upon people the freedom to express an opinion while wrapped in the safety blanket of anonymity, they say.

But is this view just an excuse to mask the ugliness of our own nature?

Resentment has tailed humans from the dawn of time. Even before the advent of modern technology, people have been turning up their noses at others they deemed deserving of scorn. “He won’t stop yapping about nonsensical drivel.” “What a vain woman, always speaking of her appearance.”

From the beginning, malice has been rooted within all of us. Its presence has only been amplified by the internet, which has shown us just how vile we can be when we think we can get away with it.

Wong Qi Xuan, 16
Secondary 4