Ordinary people undergo road rage-like personality changes when using internet sites like Facebook and Twitter, a leading psychologist has warned

Ordinary people undergo road rage-like personality changes when using internet sites like Facebook and Twitter, a leading psychologist has warned.

A dangerous combination of people feeling distanced from the person they are abusing and having a vast platform on which to vent anger instantly encourages users to become more aggressive.

Just as normally calm drivers sometimes lash out when they get frustrated behind the wheel, so ordinary people can become uncharacteristically angry on social media, said Dr Richard Sherry.

The clinical director of Psychological Systems in central London said people using social media were less likely to feel empathy or compassion towards others.

He spoke as a new poll found almost nine in ten Britons now admit to having lost their temper more quickly online than in real life. Young people were the least tolerant.

Likening the phenomenon to road rage, Dr Sherry said: 'This research shows that, if anything, the online space seems to be robbing us of some of the most fundamental aspects of our humanity.

'When using these sites, people are less likely to feel empathy, patience or compassion towards others; they are significantly quicker to judge and more dangerously reactive in their anger.'

The survey questioned 1,000 users of sites including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and Pinterest about whether their personality changes while reading and posting messages.

Some 84 per cent admitted they become more easily exasperated and enraged at others online than they ever would in person.

Young people are particularly prone to internet road rage, with 26 per cent of the 18 to 24 year olds surveyed saying they are 'always' worked up when using social media, compared with 18 per cent of 35 to 44 year olds and just 11 per cent of those in the over-55 age group.

The survey, carried out by OnePoll for 'anti-Facebook' social media site Pencourage, also revealed that many regret losing their temper online.

Some 35 per cent said they had posted a reply or comment or Tweeted in anger, only to wish they hadn't later.

A similar proportion admitted being tempted to vent their rage but said they manage to control themselves.

Dr Sherry said that like motorists, users of social websites feel protected behind their screens.

They are also emboldened by the relative anonymity and the distance between them and the person they are being rude to.

The survey questioned 1,000 users of sites including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and Pinterest about whether their personality changes while reading and posting messages. Above, file image

Even the simple fact they aren't speaking out loud and so don't hear what they are saying can make them more reckless.

The psychologist, who would like some social media websites to carry warnings that they can make people more impulsive, said: 'The psychological damage we can cause to ourselves and others must undoubtedly be taken into account when interacting via social media.

'Just as we try to be calm ahead of a tense situation on the road, equally we should take a few breaths before posting messages or sending emails.'

Peter Clayton, founder of Pencourage, which bans textspeak and encourages positive messages, said that people are clearly more antagonistic and judgemental on traditional social networking sites and 'now specialists even have a name for it'.

Daniel Miller, a social media researcher at University College London, said that other research suggests the opposite is true.

A recent study of Facebook pages of people in southern Italy found that fewer than 10 per cent of comments were negative – and even those used wit and irony to get their point across, rather than hate.