THE internet has revolutionised our lives in so many ways. “Freshly-clicked” – that would have been a mystery to all of us perhaps just ten, and certainly 20, years ago. And who would have imagined that millions would lay out details of their daily lives that other millions could access in an instant?

Strange. But a very worrying aspect of the internet, and social media, is that it calls into question some of the assumptions we make about ourselves. We Brits, for example, have always considered ourselves fundamentally decent. Tolerant, fair-minded. Sensitive to the feelings of others.

Most of us will have had nothing but sympathy for the parents of 11-month-old Charlie Gard, who were desperate for their brain-damaged infant to have treatment abroad, though were finally persuaded it would be futile. And yet they have received not just a few but thousands of hate messages. Even Charlie’s nursing staff have been abused, not only on the internet but in the street.

Parallel with that it is reported that three in four new MPs were shocked by the level of intimidation during the general election. The murder of Jo Cox might have been extreme but MPs are now being advised to defend their homes with a high fence, if possible, and create a safe hiding place. They are warned to be alert when opening the door, driving off, or following any predictable routine.

I am reminded of the occasion when I and my family were strolling past the Grand Hotel at Scarborough and who should walk down the front steps but Ted Heath, the then Prime Minister. No bodyguard or companion.

What has happened to us, collectively, in the intervening forty-odd years?

While we might never have been quite as ‘nice’ as we supposed, no one not totally deranged would have issued a death threat to an MP, one of which during the general election was accompanied with pictures of knives and other weapons. On the internet, of course.

THE gender pay row has thrown a spotlight on an intriguing new occupation – the “salary-negotiation coach.” That’s the title of a US practitioner, who popped up on TV to tell us how he “negotiates” pay for high earners. Pay-negotiation is now a growth industry, and a negotiator whose clients include Gary Lineker says: “If you go on a negotiating course they will tell you there’s more than one way to do it.”

You’d think that people who are considered worth £100,000 a year or more in any field would have enough grey matter to ‘negotiate’ their own salaries. No doubt their negotiators, like themselves, are laughing all the way to the bank.

THE National Trust has been promoting its Top Ten coastal walks around England. Among them is “Old Saltburn to Warsett Hill (4.5miles)”. The Trust’s description opens: “From the seaside town of Saltburn, with its Victorian pier and cliff lift, this walk takes you to the summit of Warsett Hill, where you can admire the Yorkshire coast and surrounding countryside…”

Oddly there’s no mention of Saltburn’s magnificent Hunt Cliff, over which the walk passes en route to Warsett Hill, a mere pimple in comparison. Could the reason be that a few years back the Trust passed up the opportunity to buy this outstanding headland?