Are the online "ranting venues" psychologically...

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...dangerous, at least potentially?

Following the infamous shooting case, I've read that a pua forum was closed where Elliot Rodger was used to post there, from what I understood it was a manosphere community full of bitter men ranting about women or some even express hating women.

Well this pua forum was an obvious case of anti-women ranting community but do you think places like WP's L&D, reddit, 9gag, where frustrational love,sex, gender-related rantings (and some even anti women) are common, are potentially dangerous in fueling and creating misogynists or even criminals?

Like if some young frustrated male joining a pua forum and start reading frustration posts from others, do you think with time he would assimilate the bitterness the others have, developing into hatred and end up being a misogynist and even potential criminal?

I've read once that internet forum addiction may lead to social bitterness.

I don't think the ranting and bitterness the few people might show on any website would help the overall reputation of any of these groups. That includes this forum.

It was an anti-PUA forum. Anti them because their tactics hadn't worked, not because of the, uh, 'troubling' views of women PUA depends on.

From that Forbes article:

Somebody needed to pull that guy aside and tell him that the "getting laid in college is easy" stereotype isn't true at all a lot of the time. I'm sure that's partially due to chicks being aware of the stereotype's existence in the first place.

I got the distinct impression that my younger NT brother bought into that stupid untrue-stereotype while going to state university since he went to see a shrink a few times after returning from college for one thing. He had multiple attractive-girlfriends not long after that though, so everything turned out okay.

I forgot what PUA meant LOL

I think internet forums, if one becomes addicted to them, become places where people could adopt the overall ideology of the forums which they frequent. If one is devoted to feminism, say, and a woman is already pissed off at men, she'll become even more pissed off at men, since she is not meeting men personally.

If she were socializing with men and with other women together, I believe she would acquire a more objective view of men, and of women based upon men/women as individuals rather than as COLLECTIVE ENTITIES.

The same goes for men who rant on forums and remain on forums. They see women as COLLECTIVE ENTITIES, rather than as individuals. If they were socialize with women in person, they would realize that not all women are fire-breathing feminists who see men as objects who speak of women only in terms of trophies, objects, leering, cat calls, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, etc. They don't meet the men who do not hold these views, and who believe women are fellow human beings who should be respected as such.

The answer, really, is to be exposed to real people in real time.

One of the most fascinating and disturbing things about the internet is that you can find an echo chamber for absolutely anything.

I think you also have to consider the flip side, which is that online discussion forums also open you up to alternative viewpoints that could persuade you NOT to be a misogynist.

I don't necessarily think internet!rage is "dangerous," per se, as I believe the majority of it is just hot air.

However, the recent shootings do demonstrate that it's not always benign either. Heck, if I remember correctly, the PA gym shooter kept a blog where he ranted against women before going on a rampage. It's part of the reason I'm not willing to let mass negative generalizations about women slide, even if it's coming from "frustrated, lonely guys." It ain't healthy.

Did anyone see the BBc prgramme Blurred Lines presented by Kirsty Wark. Warning - violent images and nudity from the outset:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89fjkRfPsDw

There was a section in this where a psychologist explained a theory that men who hear sexist humour who are not sexist will laugh, but not think anything more of it and it will not affect their general outlook, whereas those who already harbour sexist attitudes will laugh and feel justified in their sexist attitude and it makes their stance stronger.

So I wonder if this is the same in other environments. Those who don't feel sexist anyway will just laugh it off and move on, those who already feel sexist will feel that their views have been confirmed by others and continue feeling justified in believing their views, especially if no one challenges them.

Not sure if there is any truth in this, it was just a 10min soundbyte really, but it is an interesting thought worth considering.

Did someone mention Anne of Green Gables?... pops head up like a meerkat...

This is one of my favourite exchanges from the tv series:

MORGAN HARRIS: What's nagging you, Miss Shirley? You're behaving rather like a spinsterly old schoolmarm, don't you think?

ANNE: Perhaps that is because I am one.

MORGAN HARRIS: I say that with admiration, meant as a compliment. I'm a great proponent of independent thinking. Moreover, I've always held that early marriage is a sure indication of second-rate goods that had to be sold in a hurry. Wouldn't you agree?

ANNE: Well, you can be sure I am of the first-rate kind, Morgan Harris. And I certainly have far greater ambition than marriage, oh, if that is what you're insinuating is "nagging" me. I'm about to have a short work of fiction published. I'm afraid it has me completely preoccupied.

In and of themselves, they're not harmful. However, the way people use them may be harmful.

People typically absorb elements of where they spend their time, and if they spend an inordinate amount of time on such a forum they may pick up new things to be bitter and unhappy about that they hadn't thought of before. I also think that ranting about something can either get it off your chest or increase the intensity of your focus on it, depending on how long you linger, what kind of responses you get, and how much time you spend reading the rest of the forum and thinking on the topic. If you spend three hours a day thinking about something, you're not "venting" it anymore.

Ranting forums seem to be addicting because it allows people to gain a large amount of validation and sympathy from others just from posting a topic. I've been on forums for social anxiety in the past and they felt like very, very ill places with a number of posters who would spend most of their day there reading and talking about negative things. I always wondered why other people kept feeding into them, but there you have it.