Mob mentality: Once words are weapons, life becomes cheap

On Easter weekend I was taken aback by two episodes of nastiness on social media, writes Gerard Howlin.

Locally, on a Facebook page that is usually full of old photographs, tips about what’s happening and occasional asks to look out for a lost cat or dog, there was cutting, personal comment about a business owner who is selling up after many years. It was gratuitous. The source was apparently readily identifiable people, who didn’t think or didn’t care. The glassy screen they scribble on emboldens but apparently protects.

As glass houses go, it’s an astonishing construction. You can throw stones, without fear for yourself. You can gather the like-minded into a “community” that resembles a mob. This particular mob was piteously small. It was just curmudgeons ganging up on a single person. But if you are that individual, those hurling abuse at you have most of the essential attributes of a mob. It’s unpleasant at best. Nasty, if you are not thick skinned, and astonishingly revealing about people you probably pass in the street.