Has politics and society got meaner? The comments sections of most newspapers suggest that it has. Hate crimes and violent crimes are up – but generally crime is down. Politics right now seems to have become more divisive.

Some believe the online space has become like the wild west. President Trump determines diplomacy through Twitter. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has said social media companies should be more helpful in dealing with crime. The Home Secretary has threatened to force them to do so.

Historically, the common belief was that if you force people to be who they really are online, they will behave better. Instinctively, that still feels true, but is it?

The short answer is “maybe/not”. We all have a mental image of the anonymous internet troll, dispensing vitriol to all. Should we force everyone to say who they are online?

Reports suggest that people want to have online anonymity and not just so they can slag you off.

Consider those looking to establish support networks; transgender folk, victims of domestic abuse, sex workers, or people under coercive control – none of whom would benefit from having to declare who they really are.

There’s credibility too that social media networks’ business models are largely predicated on getting us all to be honest and true about who we are and what we do. Go figure.

There’s much about online harassment that is only now being studied. Currently, we just don’t know. But we do need to do something about it. Not least because of the frightening links between online harassment and self-harm, or worse.

While we try to figure it out, the obvious but difficult answer is probably that we need to learn to respect one another once again. If we can do that, we can probably achieve much more.

- Matt Turmaine is a Labour councillor for Holywell