By Prof Kamal K Pande
Open any social media platform and scroll through the comments. You are likely to encounter abusive language, profanity, insults, vulgar jokes, hate speech, caste or religion-based hatred and personal attacks. Such language also existed in the past. However, it was generally not accepted in public life and was often confined to private conversations and personal conflicts. Today, social media has given them greater speed, scale, and reach.
It is important to consider how words acquire their meanings. Words are not offensive by nature. Society, culture and history shape their meanings and give some words abusive or hurtful connotations. Such words often relate to sensitive subjects such as religion, sex, bodily functions, genitalia, caste, or particular communities. Their shock value, or ability to surprise or upset, can make them powerful. Abusive language can therefore become a tool of social control. It can intimidate people and pressure them to remain silent, withdraw, obey or accept unfair treatment.
Online abuse takes several forms. Trolling involves provoking others through offensive comments. Flaming refers to harsh language during heated arguments. Cyberbullying involves repeated insults and humiliation. Hate speech targets people based on caste, religion, or gender. Doxxing involves exposing private information, often with threats. Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA) includes sharing intimate images or distributing AI-generated or manipulated sexual images without consent. These practices range from verbal attacks and identity-based hostility to serious violations of privacy.
An offensive remark may be forgotten in a face-to-face conversation, but online, it can be recorded, shared, and seen by thousands. Comments, memes, and videos can turn personal hostility into public entertainment. As a result, abusive language is becoming increasingly common in everyday digital communication. This trend cannot be dismissed as merely a decline in moral values or bad manners. It reflects deeper social, psychological, technological and economic factors that shape how abusive language is used, perceived and spread. The media’s pursuit of audience attention and higher TRPs can further reinforce the spread of offensive language
Social factors include desensitisation and online disinhibition. Desensitisation occurs when repeated exposure to abusive words on social media platforms reduces their shock value and makes people less sensitive to them. As a result, words once considered offensive may gradually become common slang. Due to desensitisation, friends may sometimes use abusive words jokingly to express closeness and solidarity. The online disinhibition effect arises when anonymity, invisibility, and physical distance reduce self-restraint, making people feel less accountable and more prone to abusive responses online. This effect is especially noticeable in online gaming and chat apps, where even minor disagreements can lead to abusive language. When this behaviour spills into real life, it can damage relationships and weaken mutual respect.
Psychological and neurological factors shape how we respond to abuse online. When we see abusive or hurtful messages, a part of the brain called the amygdala reacts quickly to offensive words. This activates the body’s stress response and triggers feelings such as anger, fear, or shame. When emotions become very strong, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps us think about consequences and control our reactions, may not function effectively. As a result, we may react impulsively or share content without thinking. Sometimes, instead of using a wide vocabulary to express complex emotions, people may use abusive words as emotional shortcuts or filler words to express feelings quickly and make their statements more forceful.
Technology may also help spread aggressive language online. Social media platforms do not create such content themselves; users, influencers, creators, and media organisations create and post it. Digital technology uses algorithms that analyse engagement signals, such as likes, comments, shares, watch time, and clicks, to predict users’ interests. When aggressive content receives high engagement, algorithms may show it to more people. This can also create a feedback loop in which users who engage with such content keep seeing similar content. Digital technology also enables asynchronous communication, which allows people to respond from anywhere and at any time. Meanwhile, the ease of posting comments instantly can encourage impulsive responses without careful thought.
Economic incentives can also make aggressive language more visible in the media. Today, public attention has become a valuable source of income, often described as the attention economy. More views, clicks, comments, and shares can increase TRPs and generate greater advertising revenue. To attract and retain audiences, some programmes use provocative questions, loud voices, heated debates, personal attacks, frequent interruptions, controversy, and aggressive language. Such emotionally charged content can increase audience engagement, encouraging viewers to watch, react, comment, and share. The same trend is visible in films, OTT series, stand-up comedy, music, and social media, where abusive language is sometimes used to appear realistic and relatable. When such language receives applause, especially young audiences, may begin to see it as normal and gradually accept it in everyday communication.
Abusive language in the digital age is a growing concern requiring collective responsibility and action. Individuals must pause and think before posting. Parents and schools should promote digital literacy and emotional regulation. Media houses should avoid sensationalism and promote responsible communication. At the same time, social media platforms can use advanced software and algorithms to detect, flag, and reduce abusive content, while governments should enforce clear and effective laws against serious online abuse. Only collective action can prevent abuse from becoming normal and help build a safer and more respectful digital culture.
(The author is former Director, Higher Education, Uttarakhand.)
