How much nicer are we because of the internet ?

Establishing proof for a causal connection likely is difficult. But asking may be useful, even if anecdotal evidence is the best most of us can offer. So…to what degree has the web led to people in the US and other societies being more empathetic and compassionate ?

To compare notes, people nowadays seem nicer than we (that includes me) did when I was a young adult in the 80s and early 90s before AOL came into our lives.

Media consolidation has continued during the past 20 years, of which the Columbus Dispatch is a recent example. But the user-driven, interactive nature of the internet, including but not limited to social media, has led to a flourishing of a diversity of perspectives and opportunities for social ties that defy geography.

That contrasts with the top-down, one-way communication of mass media prior to the internet, when gatekeepers more or less controlled a relatively few sources of information. But do we now have more of a sense of connection with people in general—in our own towns and cities and around the world—as a result of using the internet ?

Thanks