Top 5 TOXIC Internet Things!

 

Ciao lovelies! Today’s post is a dive into the serious side of things, as today we’re looking at the top 5 toxic things to come out of the internet. This list isn’t going to be singular events (I’ll make another list for that) but rather 5 toxic phenomena to escape the clutches of the web and surface into the public.

PLEASE NOTE: Some of the topics covered on this list may be triggering to some. Please do not read if you are triggered by- Anorexia mentions, suicide mentions, prank mentions, jumpscare mentions (don’t worry, there will not be a jumpscare in this post, nor am I linking to any), chain letter mentions. 

Please also read to the bottom, or skip to the bottom if you would like. The purpose of this unusually dark post is written there, and I’d like for you to know why I am sharing these horrors with you.

That out of the way, let’s get into the list! These are in no particular order.

#1- “Thinspo” or Pro-Anorexia Blogs

Yes, sadly you heard me right. There is a large online community for people supporting anorexia sufferers, but not in the way you’d hope. Instead of offering recovery advice or encouragement towards recovery, these blogs post what’s called “thinspo,” or pictures of unhealthy thin people and tell their readers to emulate these looks. These blogs will post horrible almost harassing posts, calling readers “Fat pigs” and similar insults in attempts to motivate the readers to lose even more weight. I am not linking any of these blogs as I don’t want to trigger anyone or get them hated on; these people need help and care, not hatred. 

#2- Suicide Baiting

Once again, I’m sorry to say that wasn’t a typo. While I haven’t ever seen communities dedicated to this horrible practice, every so often, very dedicated internet trolls will engage in a practice known as “suicide baiting” where their goal is, you guessed it, to bait people into taking their own lives. These trolls genuinely get a kick out of this, as disgusting as that sounds. While I’d wish that this was a very isolated phenomena, unfortunately many lives have already been lost to this sick, twisted practice. Amanda Todd, the girl pictured above, was one of these victims, may she rest in peace.

#3- Harmful “Challenges”

The “challenge” trend is one that has changed over time, encompassing many challenges, all running the spectrum from harmless and stupid to incredibly dangerous and harmful. The basics? A new “challenge” will spread through the internet, and those who achieve it get, well, nothing, possibly some popularity among peers, but nothing is guaranteed. Challenges over the years such as the Cinnamon challenge (which involved youth ingesting a tablespoon of cinnamon without a drink), and the Choking game (kids literally choked themselves with belts, ropes, etc.) actually led to deaths!

Some challenges are admittedly positive (the viral nature of the Ice Bucket Challenge brought awareness to ALS), but these harmful challenges need to stop. For goodness sakes, we had children summoning demons! (Charlie Charlie). 

#4- Jumpscares

What is it about the internet and it’s unfailing ability to bring out the worst in people? A fairly common internet practice is the practice of creating, spreading around, and taking delight in the results of jumpscares. Jumpscares, for those unaware, are basically things that pop up and make loud noises when unexpected, causing the reader/viewer to jump and generally be terrified. While many view jumpscares as harmless pranks, they can cause panic attacks, anxiety attacks, asthma attacks, and cardiac arrest. Maybe think twice before sharing that maze game with your grandparents?

#5- Chain Letters

Oh man, this totally makes me seem old (and I’m only 18)! I remember getting my first chain email at the tender and stupid age of 12. It was something totally generic like “Some little ghost girl will haunt you and kill you if you don’t forward this to ten friends in 2 hours!” But that totally terrified me, being someone totally new to the internet. I remember crying and thinking I was going to die because, well, quite frankly, I didn’t have ten friends.

Nowadays, instead of lurking in our email inboxes, chain letter style posts haunt our newsfeeds and tumblr dashboards. They have evolved into things like, “If you don’t reblog this you’re a bad person!” and “Click like for Jesus, keep scrolling for Satan!” (I know some of you definitely have to have seen these things). These are technically a form of chain letter, promising some sort of harm, whether to self esteem or religious standing, if the reader doesn’t do a certain action (like, reblog, etc). These are absolutely ridiculous and clearly untrue, but if you just got onto the internet, they’re scary as hell.

So now, the point of this post.

I want to share this post because while I like to focus on the positive and happy, I am not ignorant to the bad things that exist in the world. I want to ensure that you all know about these things so that none of you fall victim to the bad things out there! 

Thanks for reading! I hope you all learned something from this post, and stay safe on the internet! 

If you’d like, please give us a like on Facebook, Follow on Instagram, or a follow on Bloglovin, we would really appreciate your readership!

If you want to support us further and want something cute and unique, please consider an item from our Redbubble shop! We have stickers, totes, notebooks, and more!

Thank you so much for reading, see you in tomorrow’s post!