Since the dawn of time, humans have always been one of the most expressive species whether it be through facial expressions, hand gestures, or speech. From a gentle whisper to angry shouting, the range of these expressions are limitless. However, fast forward to today’s society, the right end of said spectrum has undoubtedly become more prominent, that is, anger. In this piece of writing, the reasons as to why this is the case will be discussed extensively as well as whether this has a positive or negative connotation in our society.
The culprit for this societal issue is one that we have been discussing for the past few decades, one that we all expect; social media. Social media has given its users anonymity, a power no one should be able to wield. With anonymity, individuals are able to criticize others without fear of any consequences. This gives rise to the use of rather bold ideas coupled with raw language which will undoubtedly spark outrage amongst its userbase with different societal views.
In certain perspectives, outrage and anger of citizens could be beneficial to society. Anger sparks actions, and actions spark changes. However, it depends on the government to be able to control the actions of citizens and not let things get out of hand. To exemplify, Singapore has risen to the top of global economy as of the past few decades. A large part of why Singapore has been so successful is its use of the platform “Our Singaporean Conversation”. This platform serves to bridge the gap between citizens and the government, turning anger, outcry, and sarcastic comments, into constructive criticism which will ultimately be used to contribute positively to the development of Singapore.
However, in many other contexts, anger and outrage will tend to end badly. From petty internet arguments where one side might feel more hurt than the other to lives being lost, these detrimental effects can vary widely. In many societies, public outcry is deemed as unacceptable. An example of public outcry ending badly for citizens is the Tiannanmen Square Massacre. Back then, Chinese students assembled to push for more acceptable living conditions, but the Chinese government did not respond well, sending out tanks and soldiers to murder these students. It was seen as one of the most tragic events of the 21st century. Because of anger, the country’s already not-so-good reputation plummeted in the depths of hell, showing that, in other cases, anger can
also have detrimental effects to the development of a society.