> It felt pretty good. At first. Then I felt worse. WAY worse because I knew I had hurt the person I had yelled at.
> So I think you're right that while it is a release, it's an anti-productive one.
That ... actually sounds like it had the result of making you not want to do it again in the future, and if that's the case, one could say it was productive. And if lashing out online has less of a bad impact on the person on the other end than lashing out in person, then that seems like an improvement to me.
The difference is, I had to physically be around that person afterwards. I had to see how my actions affected that person.
I don't have to see that online. I get to lob bombs over the wire at someone I've never met and will likely never meet. I can make them feel bad and feel very little consequence for it but easily justify my actions to myself in no small part because I don't have to see how it affected them.
> So I think you're right that while it is a release, it's an anti-productive one.
That ... actually sounds like it had the result of making you not want to do it again in the future, and if that's the case, one could say it was productive. And if lashing out online has less of a bad impact on the person on the other end than lashing out in person, then that seems like an improvement to me.