this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2025
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[–] WatDabney@lemmy.dbzer0.com 81 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I'm reasonably certain that it would be much more accurate to say that people who are prone to depression, paranoia, suicidal thoughts, self-injury and digital self-harm are more likely to use the dark web.

Broadly, this isn't the first time that it's struck me that pedantic moralizing often relies on reversing cause and effect...

[–] iloveDigit@piefed.social 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

I would say it's more like, yeah of course when a "silent majority" forces a tiny percentage of people to rely on obscure tools to fight constant attacks on their right to free speech, then yeah that world might have that tiny percentage struggling more than the group attacking for fun

[–] Randomgal@lemmy.ca 0 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

You mean buy drugs and tickets to Epstein Island? Because that's what the Dark Web is used for.

[–] iloveDigit@piefed.social 8 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

When you're targeted enough, you use it for regular email and stuff. Not sure if you get that. There are probably people who use piefed through tor

[–] swelter_spark@reddthat.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

I use Lemmy through tor. And everything else

[–] Cracks_InTheWalls@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

It's also used for anonymous communication where there's significant privacy concerns. There's several news organizations that have a dark web presence for sources to share sensitive information/stuff they could be persecuted for.

But yeah, there's a lot of that other stuff going on as well.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

We had the "AI chatbot" mental illness link the other day, what's next, people using apps to bet on sports are poorer?

[–] U@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You eloquently expressed my thoughts. But I find the second part of your comment particularly insightful. It strikes a deeper chord worth what might motivate that reversal.

[–] WatDabney@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

It's a thing I hadn't really thought about before, but as I was writing that, I was thinking how many times I'd written similar things in the past - about heavy metal music, comic books, dungeons and dragons, violent video games...

And it struck me that that was too consistent to be coincidental - that there had to be some basic failure at work there.

And thinking sbout it more - it's at least broadly the same dynamic as the endless loop of class- and race-based bigotry. Systems are established by which members of a particular class or race (or ethnic group or gender or sexual persuasion or...) are disadvantaged - poorer nutrition, less stable housing, poorer education, fewer opportunities, etc. - then point to the ignorance, frustration and antisocial tendencies that triggers as nominal evidence of their inherent inferiority, by which they're rightly denied equal treatment.

I'm willing to bet that there's a significant body of work out there on this topic

[–] salacious_coaster@infosec.pub 36 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

No shit suicidal people are turning to the dark web. People are not allowed to talk frankly about it hardly anywhere. Apparently we can't even talk shit about ourselves without it being labeled "digital self-harm 😭".

[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

Yeah, there are tons of places where you can't even start a frank discussion about it without just being spammed with the suicide prevention hotline and have your post/comments taken down. Yeah, it's SUPER important that people know those resources exist when they're in crisis but you can't just send them that, block them from talking to people when they may not have anyone else to talk to, then congratulate yourself on a job well done.

[–] Flaqueman@sh.itjust.works 26 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Correlation is not ~~causality~~ causation. Edit: English is not my native language

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

He was still right.

[–] Zink@programming.dev 11 points 3 weeks ago

I wonder if this is less of a link between those things and the dark web, and more of a link between the mental issues and being beyond terminally online and over-informed about all the most horrible shit out there.

[–] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 weeks ago

Correlation doesn't mean causation

This is so important to understand.

[–] chunes@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The complement of the surface web is the deep web, not the dark web.

Deep web = sites that are not indexed by search engines. Surface web = sites that are.

Yep, the term they were looking for is clear web.

[–] UnfortunateShort@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Oh yes? Who says that? God I can't take it, I swear I'm gonna cut myself... irl and in Minecraft.

[–] thatradomguy@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

I have legit never seen the term "surface web" used to describe a person surfing the web. wth lol

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

I mean yeah. Those seeking such things are often not particularly mentally healthy and if their dark web experiences are outside of the "friend's server" type deal much of the sort of stuff you have to go to the dark web for isn't going to be good for your mental health

[–] lmmarsano@lemmynsfw.com 0 points 3 weeks ago

OK, but let's make this about AI, create a community about it, and agitate people into a rage until no one can shut up about it. !fuck_dark_web@lemmy.world

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world -3 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Unsurprising.

The dark web exists to serve criminals, subversives, and paranoid people. Why else would someone go to the trouble of accessing a part of the internet with a worse user interface that requires additional work to access? There is a pre-existing filter for people who are mentally unwell.

[–] frizzo@piefed.social 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You win the most nescient comment I have read today. I long for the time when it filtered out people with narrow minded views like yourself.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Tell me how I am wrong - how else am I to learn?

[–] frizzo@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

Once again you are incorrect, I'm actually not the moron whisperer placed on earth to make you a smarter better person. Perhaps a short book with large letters about critical thinking?

[–] AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Wow, people just immediately proved your point in replies.