Has the internet made people more opinionated?

No. It just provides them with a venue to annoy more people than they could have done in the past.

But do you think people out in the street are more readily to voice opinions than in the past?

No.

That's a badly written sentence.

People out in the streets aren't posting online, unless they're using a smart phone, in which case the odds are good that they'll walk into a light pole, or a building, another pedestrian or step out into traffic . . . That would make the question moot.

But does the internet give people more reason to be opinionated in everday life when they are not using the internet?

I'd imagine that throughout human history, many generations have felt "more ready" to voice their opinions than the last. Social movements happened thousands of years before the web.

I don't see how the internet should be considered a special vehicle for social change - as it can equally be a tool for misinformation and societal degradation. The same goes for television, radio, newspaper...

the point is that people really don't change. things around people change all the time. and then there are the reactions to those changes...

Sure; have you ever attended a social gathering? What were the topics of discussion?

The internet leaves behind inhibitions and the "rules of engagement" changes, because you're typing on a computer, and not face to face.

Most people's persona changes on the internet. I know I'm more direct, and challenge bull shite when I see it.

I still consider myself a pretty average guy, and get along with most people face to face or on the internet.

I argue with my siblings when we discuss religion or politics; doesn't mean I love them less or don't respect them.

The anonymity angle certainly lends itself to brevity and forcefulness of expression, particularly on forums such as this. But I've also noticed that frequent engagement in the cut and thrust of internet debate carries over to "real life", in the sense that either you feel that "you've said it all before", or that "you get impatient with preliminary trivia". I notice this particularly as a member of a monthly philosophy discussion group where I seem to spend time pointing out to me what is "the obvious".

It seems to me that you're trying to get the answers you think agree with your view rather than being open to what people have to say.

I guess that makes me opinionated about your opinion. Otherwise I rarely voice an opinion here. I don't like to argue.

I agree compelely--he's attempting to force people to take a position based on what he wants to believe is true.

i have, for the whole of my life (at least as far back as i can remember), talked to myself (out loud and in my head), i was just as likely to spout my opinions to lampposts i passed in the street in the days pre internet as i am to post those same thoughts on line

i still rant to the trees when i walk in the nearby bush lot

Yes. If you have an unpopular or socially unacceptable opinion, you can come online and find people who agree with you. This seems to make people more willing to express those opinions in public.

I'm not entirely sure my position on this. Although I've noticed a lot more people are finding it hard to come to a consensus on on certain things. I'm not even sure if that is a result of the internet or not.

Usually on the subjects of religion and politics.