I think the reason why toxic is getting used more frequently is because it is saying "a thing I/We don't like has a viral quality". Flamewars notoriously have

I think the reason why toxic is getting used more frequently is because it is saying "a thing I/We don't like has a viral quality". Flamewars notoriously have that feature, like a black hole dragging in more and more participants until everybody is Hitlin-Staler. I would <personal opinion incoming> that most modern news websites and television news channels are toxic because they make the viewers more neurotic and in a way that spreads because misery loves company. I suspect that a ban on news would magically improve social networking. People would still talk of news but the toxicity would go way down. No exceptions, total ban. If a nuke goes off or the zombies are coming - you'll find out somehow. Sometimes I miss out on daylight savings time changes or something basic everybody appears to know and I'm fine with that. Some people will think this impedes some democratic process - I can't imagine what happened before 24 hr news was invented or the television, I'm sure it was a complete nightmare.