CULTURAL REGRESSION ONE MEME AT A TIME
Harry was my best friend, so I tried to enjoy 4Chan the way he did. I never succeeded. Maybe it was the constant and overtly unironic use of the N-word. Maybe it was the constant need for one-upmanship to prove that one was not a “fag” or a “noob.” Maybe it was constant rape jokes and the very palpable hostility and rage toward women, encapsulated by the time when a member uploaded a photo of himself having intercourse with a female corpse that was missing everything from the torso up.
More likely than not, it was the effect I saw it have on Harry himself, as he slowly changed in real life from my best friend into a 4Chan username, culminating in his 2010 arrest for stalking and threatening his ex-girlfriend. Before my eyes, I saw one of my favourite people regress from a positive, outgoing, even-tempered young man into a paranoid, insecure, anxiety-ridden adrenaline junkie who was convinced that everyone else was some sort of supporting character in a videogame he was playing.
It could happen to a positive-minded, well-travelled Humanities student attending university in the UK. It is no major stretch to imagine this process being amplified in the case of an unspectacular young male anywhere in the western world, already raised on a diet of xenophobic Murdoch-controlled press, with a homogenous peer group consuming the exact same content online. Add in a few variables like military training and access to high capacity firearms, and you can take your pick of Branton Tarrant, Dylan Roof, Anders Breivik, or – god forbid – whoever comes next.
https://www.ccn.com/remember-lads-subscribe-to-pewdiepie-we-need-to-talk-about-how-domestic-terrorists-are-created-online