I agree we seem to have lost empathy. I think the thing the pseudonymous internet provides is lack of consequences for incivility. People will say far more hate

I agree we seem to have lost empathy. I think the thing the pseudonymous internet provides is lack of consequences for incivility. People will say far more hateful things in a FB post than they would to another human two feet away who can yell back. Same things happens in a car, yelling and screaming that we wouldn't do in person. We would just walk away and talk about the infringer behind their backs. However, that time and space is also a release valve; we move on and get back to life. In an online forum, it is non-stop and ever escalating. Truly anonymous or not doesn't seem to be the key. Most people in our social circle would probably agree with any bad take we had anyway. We've given everyone a microphone and everyone just screams over each other. And worse, we've made it infinitely profitable for companies to run the sound system on high. There is no easy path out of it as long as dissent prints cash.