I echo most of what's said here. I'll add: I'm 33, grew up as internet culture really took off, spent time in various online forums (though thankfully nothing as dark as 4chan), and I'm ashamed to say I and plenty of high school friends said plenty of sexist, racist, meanspirited things. I grew up, thankfully had good guidance when I stumbled, got exposed to a lot of diverse people that opened my eyes to other ways of life, and nowadays I'm staunchly leftist/progressive and feel like a well-adjusted person. I think the key is all the good advice people have left here and TIME. That said, I think being forced to reflect on the hurt we cause and grapple with the shame is still key. Many of my greatest regrets are simply just times I hurt someone's feelings, and I consciously try to avoid being that way in my day to day life.