The dark side of the internet

Content Warning: Disturbing descriptions of violence

Most people are aware that there are two sides to the internet: the ethical and the unethical. There are things that everyone sees, like funny videos, outfit ideas, tutorials, etc; and there are things that most people try to avoid. While the sensible will steer clear of the gory content available for any who look hard enough, sometimes our curiosity can get the better of us, and when it does, these dark forums are ready to welcome us with open arms—the most notorious of which being the Dark Web.

While not many people I know have been on it, most are aware of its existence. The Dark Web is a part of the internet hidden in an encrypted layer below the normal web, which requires a special tool to access and maintain anonymity. Much like the internet, the Dark Web also has good and bad sides; or, rather, ethical and unethical sides. The ethical being some of its chatrooms—which can be used for private messages to broker deals or send confidential information—or its libraries, with thousands of free online books just a quick search away. But the ethical side is not what draws people in. People’s curiosities are spiked by the potential atrocities they can see; the morbidity within each of us that calls out when we hear of what lurks behind the shadows. 

As Paul Dwyer suggested when speaking to The Irish Times, the Dark Web can quickly become too real too fast, and the more you see, the more desensitised you become. The more videos that  haunt you, the more gory the next one will have to be to affect you.

Reddit users answered a question regarding their search on the Dark Web, describing the disturbing things they saw. Reddit user @billosito described a page that claimed to be selling young women and children. Another user by the username of @skere_ik described a video of a man getting stuck in a metal lathe and being chopped into pieces. Multiple users saw cartel members torturing and murdering victims in the most gruesome ways imaginable. These users appeared to regret what they saw, the images haunting them to this day. They did not go out in search of videos like this, but their curiosity regarding the Dark Web drew them in, and they fell down the rabbit hole too fast to stop themselves before seeing what they would come to regret.

@Austinvro on TikTok perfectly encapsulates this thirst for knowledge. His profile is largely just videos covering the darker side of the internet. He has accumulated 4.9 million followers and 78.8 million likes. In one of his series, he delves into the Dark Web, going where commenters ask him to. One of these areas are the Red Rooms, where people can pay to watch, vote on, and control the live torture of another human being (often a woman). Although the authenticity of these rooms has been debated, the sentiment remains. Austin’s followers wanted to know more, their own curiosity sending them to potentially very mentally damaging sides of the internet. 

Austin, for his own gain, feeds into this interest that the public has for potentially scarring videos and information. Those that are too afraid to enter that side of the web for themselves will find others to do it for them, and there are people who are happy to oblige. 

My point is not to shame people who merely seek out this knowledge to understand the Dark Web; instead, my point is to question what draws people there at all. Why do people, who comprehend the potentially damaging content that can be accidentally found, still look for the Dark Web? Have we, as a society, become so used to seeing these types of videos that we no longer feel fear when looking for them? Are we, instead, so afraid of missing out on a part of the internet others have accessed, that we will risk falling into the worst that it can offer? Most people do not want to see the horrific images present on the Dark Web, but most people still stumble across them during their investigation. 

While this can all seem outside of your version of the internet, it is not as far away as you think. Within minutes of research for this article I found the extension I needed to download and multiple tutorials on how to access the Dark Web. While we believe that if we avoid the Dark Web, we will never see the graphic videos and images that one sees there, similar images are on Reddit. These make their way onto other platforms, like TikTok, which then make their way onto unsuspecting people’s “For You” pages. 

The Dark Web and Reddit both contain various graphic images that can easily traumatise viewers. Reddit users even boasted about how tame the Dark Web is in comparison to what they have seen on other forums. An odd boast that truly does exemplify the multiple sides to the internet, for all those who are brave enough to go looking. 

People will find what they want to, regardless of what forum it is on. The curiosity within each of us sometimes expands out to a darker side for some. This horrific content that individuals can discover will always have a lasting impact, whether users realise it or not. Nobody is immune to the horrific things they see, nor are they supposed to be. 

The Dark Web can be a twisted place—while some users are only there for Netflix passwords and drugs, there are other much more twisted individuals hiding behind the anonymity this subset of the internet provides. If you decide to go against your better judgment and search the depths of these forums, make sure you don’t get too lost in it. Although there is lots to be seen, not all of it should be.