Psychologist: Polish haters are venting after decades without freedom of speech

Along with the refugee crisis, a rare wave of virtual aggression swept through the Polish internet. Among the thousands of aggressive anti-immigrant comments there were even voices of support for the Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people and called for deportation of Muslims from Europe. The were also Internet users who suggested that refugees should be placed in Auschwitz. The prosecutor\'s office launched an investigation in the latter case.

Writer Olga Tokarczuk also faced online hate. Her words that "we did terrible things as colonizers, national majority who suppressed minority, as slaveholders or murderers of Jews", the Nike Prize laureate drew thousands of hateful comments in social media and online forums. Some of them contained death threats. "I\'ve never experienced so much massive hatred, as in the past three days. I am deeply sorry for all hated" - the writer wrote later on Facebook.

In mid-October, Lao Che drummer Michał Jastrzębski became object of aggression web after he revealed his homosexuality and his band took part in the campaign for the LGBT community. The authors of an album dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising, regularly appearing in the Warsaw Uprising Museum, well liked by right-wing community, now met with massive hate on their part.

"For several decades, Poles lived in the system in which they did not have complete freedom of speech. The Internet has given some of us the feeling that we finally can blurt out, however violent and hateful statements these are. Although online aggression is widespread throughout the world, in Poland this factor makes it particularly common" - told PAP psychologist of new technologies Jakub Kuś from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Wrocław.

"Internet has been used on a massive scale for only 15-20 years. It is a very short time. However, I have the impression that, unfortunately, there is more and more hate every year, despite the fact that we have been using the internet for a while now and we should have some idea what is appropriate and what is not" - noted the psychologist.

In his opinion, if we do not think about how to counter web aggression in the near future, in 10-15 years, as a society we will be in considerable trouble. Although online haters, hidden behind the monitor, had their the possibility of commenting been reduced, would rather not have the courage to go out and talk the same in the street, or start a blog under their own banner, but the lack of reaction to web aggression may have long-term consequences.

"Aggressive online behaviour influences how we think about other people. If you behave aggressively towards someone online, you begin to feel that such behaviour is acceptable. All indications are that this feeling will persist beyond the virtual world. This does not mean that aggressive user will replicate his online behaviour in real life. However, it can translate to how he will think and perceive other people. Most often his reaction will be de-humanization of others" - Kuś described.

Solving the problem of online hate speech will be the topic of roundtable, to be held in mid-November. Representatives of ministries, prosecutors, NGOs and major websites have been invited to participate in the event organized by the Ombudsman.

"Personally, I am very pleased that the roundtable is convened at such a high level. However, it will have a chance of success only if we manage to identify a few key points on how we can fight the online hatred" - said Kuś.

Blocking online forums, removing aggressive entries, closing an extremely hateful discussions are - according to Kuś - only temporary measures. "I can imagine a situation where you can and should lock a forum, or remove the possibility of posting comments in the most dramatic cases. Sometimes it is the fight for someone\'s life. This, however, is a short-term measure that does not change mechanisms that facilitate aggressive behaviour" - he said.

The best way to draw attention to the potential impact of the web aggression is - in the opinion of the psychologist - to create a good social campaign, addressed primarily to young people, based on scientific knowledge. "In Poland we also do not have courses that would teach young people how to use the Internet well. There are no lessons, which teach how to use the Internet without hurting other people, to remember that there is also a person on the other side of the screen. Society has yet to grow up to the Internet. Not just the Polish society" - he stressed.

How a society is open to all differences, it is not - according to the psychologist - the most important factor affecting the web aggression. This phenomena are linked only to a certain level, but online hate depends much more on the individual tendencies of a particular person. It does not need to be associated with stereotypes and prejudices.

Some time ago there was a study on the so-called Internet trolls. It turned out that they are people with a higher level of sadism. They treat the Internet as a space to manifest their sadistic behaviour. On the other hand, they have elevated levels of narcissism. "This makes a coherent whole: for their selfish fun, consisting of trolling, they manipulate others, they treat them like toys in cyberspace. They do not realize that digital harm causes analogue pain" - said the expert.

Web aggression is also promoted by the sense that functioning online is like functioning in a completely different world. Psychologists of Internet have also studied how people perceive the ethical and moral rules online. It turned out that different rules are often applied to virtual reality. "We consider more thing acceptable, ethical. Behaviour that would be unacceptable in real life, turns out to be commonplace online. A good example is piracy. Very few people committing Internet piracy, would enter a store and steal a few albums" - Kuś noted.

Also, the term "hejt" (a term commonly used in Poland, derived from the English word "hate") is - in his opinion - a euphemism. "The popularity of this particular word is, in a sense, a justification of this phenomenon and attempt to relativise it. It suggests a behaviour that is acceptable in the conditions of the Internet. We no longer speak about hate, rage, offending other people, just +hejt+. It makes an impression of fun rather than harming other people, or groups of people" - noted the psychologist.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland, Ewelina Krajczyńska

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