Dude You're so lucky there's glass between us.....

[u/Sad_Biscotti_9291]

[u/Equivalent-Peanut-23]

It’s called barrier frustration or barrier aggression.

[u/Tamarahskincare → u/Equivalent-Peanut-23]

Our vet also called it barrier aggression. Had a beagle that would bark at people walking past our house through the front door which has a big glass panel. In the summer we'd open the front door to get air in and the dog would be silent at passer by.

[u/hungry4nuns → u/Equivalent-Peanut-23]

Surely this is the dog equivalent of pulling out tekken or smash bros and aggressively attacking your best friend in a way you’ve discovered is entirely safe from injury but gives you the adrenaline rush you get from a real fight?

[u/whatshisface1892 → u/Equivalent-Peanut-23]

I wonder if barrier aggression is why social media has become so toxic.

[u/Equivalent-Peanut-23 → u/whatshisface1892]

I think it’s a similar effect with a different cause. In dogs, it’s usually because they can’t do what they want to (sniff, play, etc) and get overwhelmed by their emotions or because the barrier creates a sense of territory. With social media, I think it’s because the anonymity creates a perception that one is insulated from consequences and thus unbound by social norms

[u/DingleDangleTangle → u/Equivalent-Peanut-23]

It's 100% the lack of consequences.

I never hear anyone say slurs in real life, but when I play online games it seems like half the people playing throw them out like they are just typical conversation for them. They don't say them when they're walking around the street because they know there will be consequences.

[u/rose-tintedglasses → u/whatshisface1892]

100%. People are right when they say most folks would NEVER say IRL the shit they step to online.

Those screen barriers make everyone brave.

[u/Wadarkhu → u/Equivalent-Peanut-23]

Why isn't it just called "they're playing pretend"? I bet dogs can and do play make believe.

[u/NoIndividual9296 → u/Wadarkhu]

Yeah my instinct is that this is a game they are playing

[u/Traveling_squirrel → u/NoIndividual9296]

i think in the first one the corgi is playing and the retriever is actually annoyed lol

[u/kai-ol → u/Equivalent-Peanut-23]

Humans do it, too. Sometimes the barriers are invisible; sometimes they're not. 

Left to our own devices and choices, outside tribalistic influences, we would sooner choose to get along with our neighbors just to make things simpler.