An idea about the rise in interpersonal aggression

At the desk, 8:06 a.m.

Ronald Oldfield, a biologist at Case Western Reserve, did a little study with a fish that's called the Red Devil fish or Midas cichlid. According to Wikipedia, the font of all information:

"The aggressivity of Midas cichlids should not be underestimated and co-habitants should be chosen carefully in an aquarium setting."

From National Geographic, June 2012:

"Using juveniles of the common tropical aquarium fish Midas cichlid, Oldfield found that the fish in a small, typical home tank nipped and charged at one another. The attacks subsided in a hundred-gallon tank filled with plants and alcoves.

"In a tight, unfurnished environments, explains Oldfield, aggression becomes cost-effective because the fish have nothing else to do. However, in spacious accommodations with multiple objects to break up lines of vision, the fish put their energy toward exploring instead of tussling with their tank mates."

I don't think it's a big stretch to say that people in general are more irritable and aggressive right now. I read this study and got to wondering if the rise in social media had something to do with it.

Twitter, Facebook, blogs, even Pinterest give the average person a sense of living in a crowded fishbowl where everyone is watching their every move. Even when people aren't watching, we wonder why they aren't. And then there's the competition. Someone is forever nattering about how many more people are in their fish tank - subscribers, followers, blog views, etc.

It's like we all live in a crowded fishbowl now.

No wonder we're cranky.

Just an observation.

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