In Search of the Reasons for Expressing Resentment Towards Children on the Internet

Abstract

The article aims to highlight the phenomenon of adults expressing resentment towards children and to try to reach its causes. The subject of the study consists of the statements of internet users perceived through the prism of linguistic discourse analysis. The author distinguishes three groups of causes: cultural (individualism, freedom in way of life, egocentrism), social (child-centrism vs. loss of social contact with the child) and psychological (individual). Cultural reasons relate to the fact that people nowadays value freedom and don’t want to make sacrifices for children who they consider a disturbance to their orderly, ideal way of life and individualistic mindset. Social causes come in the form of two seemingly opposing ideas. The first is about protest against pressure to have and to like children, alongside the priority given to families with children. The second is about the loss of social contact with the child, caused by the change in the family model and the privatization of motherhood. Psychological causes are of an individual nature; they may be related to trauma and various hypersensitivities and often manifest in expressions of disgust towards children. The author draws attention to the normalization of rude language behavior and the escalation of expressed resentment, which raises questions about the possibility of age discrimination.