Erikka Askeland: Net reflects the dark side of our nature

Of course this means that while there is a book that consists of just the letter “a” with a full stop in the middle, the library also contains the greatest works of literature, history, biography and philosophy ever written or yet to be written, which the librarians, whose near futile jobs make them suicidally depressed, seek like miners.

Borges’ library, which was written about in the early 1950s, is then a little like today’s internet. Although hardly infinite, like the universe it is constantly expanding, with much of its contents the purest dross and drivel, but somewhere, you might think, it hosts some pretty cool stuff.

When you think about it, the internet is probably one of humankind’s most important inventions. It has irrevocably changed the way we communicate, shop, gather information and do business. As a sort of collective brain, it reflects back to us our hopes, fears, knowledge and activities – for better or for worse.

It is hard not to feel like Borges’ librarians when you hear about people like Sean Duffy, the “troll” who was jailed for leaving despicable messages on the tribute pages of teenagers who had died. And it wasn’t just cruel messages, like the “I fell asleep on the track lolz” left on the pages of Natasha MacBryde, who had committed suicide by throwing herself in front of a train. He also made little videos and posted them on YouTube, depicting the unfortunate MacBryde as “Tash the Tank Engine” and another featuring a coffin, which shows that a strange amount of effort and at least some skill, if not a total lack of decency, went into his cruel bullying.

It is quite possible to use the internet without coming across too much that is unsavoury, but it can be startling how easy it is to find oneself muddied by some of the filthy attitudes people post online. As a Twitter user, I follow people in business, other journalists, Stephen Fry, of course, which means the sort of updates I see on a regular basis range from being dull and professional to wry and informative. But once, after I swapped a rather bland joke about the photographs of Celtic coach Neil Lennon being attacked by a football fan with a friend, I became subject to some rather uncalled for abuse from one leebowers999, who didn’t seem to think very highly of Lennon, and whom I had never met and obviously didn’t follow. His slur on my looks was quite tame compared to what Sean Duffy got up to, but there is something about the internet that can truly bring out the worst in people.

And while some argue this is how some naturally behave when operating under cloak of anonymity, there is also the aspect of power that can embolden – there has not been in human history a similar tool where just anybody can publish anything which can potentially be seen by billions of people.

Before the internet, mass communications were much more controlled. Publishers only printed certain books and editors ensured only the truth, or information that could be proven to be such, made it into print. Publishers still do their jobs, but the internet provides a whole new territory where regulation,and taste and discrimination seldom are heard.

Even professionals who should know better, like Glaswegian journalist Johann Hari, can be tempted to abuse the power of the medium. In handing back a prestigious award, Hari admitted he had – under a pseudonym – published malicious comments about rival journalists on Wikipedia.

The internet is so powerful, it is changing our culture and how we live in it. But while we can tut about Hari’s deceit or rue Duffy’s horrible attacks, their medium just provides a reflection of the humanity that uses it. And the lack of censorship or judgment means the mirror image has never been more accurate.