Social media has taken offence-taking to a completely different level though. Before the internet there were always people who wrote into newspapers to express their outrage about something or other, but it took effort to do this and most people couldn't be bothered. Now it's possible to publish your views online in seconds - that's a game-changer.
The other factor in this is that we've become much more hyper-sensitive than we used to be. This trend predated the internet but has certainly been amplified by it. And in many ways, it's been a positive development - misogyny, racism, homophobia etc are far less acceptable than they were a few decades ago. There is much more focus in schools and workplaces on making everybody feel included and having a zero tolerance attitude towards bullying. It's by no means perfect, but it's much better than it was.
The problem is, somewhere along the line we seem to have lost a bit of perspective. Instead of merely responding to clear instances of bullying or harassment, some people actually go looking for things to be offended by in order to parade their hurt feelings online. The culture seems to be telling people, "You found something upsetting? Let everybody know and seek retribution against the person who offended you! Ruin their life if you can!" It's bonkers.
I'm glad my children are growing up in an era when bullying and harassment are far less tolerated than it was when I was at school - this can only be a good thing. But I don't think this atmosphere of emotional hysteria can ultimately be good for anybody's mental health. Hopefully over time a sense of balance will return and we'll again be able to differentiate between behaviour that is genuinely damaging/threatening and that which is merely obnoxious, or just somebody expressing a different opinion.
