As the article touches on, this seems symptomatic of two larger-scale issues - while the poll results almost certainly acted as a final straw, as it were, it is

As the article touches on, this seems symptomatic of two larger-scale issues - while the poll results almost certainly acted as a final straw, as it were, it is hard to imagine the same circumstances arising without the Internet's combination of dehumanization (due to pseudonymity) and echo/amplifying effects; it is far more difficult to escape a negative headspace when even on the best days you are subject to a barrage of topics you looked up on the worst - even if the topics themselves are mundane, mental associations are not to be underestimated, and it's all too easy to slip backwards. I don't know if it's possible to fix these in current social network designs - even when linked to your actual identity, Facebook has shown a screen can still be barrier enough to encourage all sorts of awful, while the trend in tracking and topic repetition (echochamber) has only been increasing. I hope we figure it out before the Internet gets too evil.