#stoptrolling

How online ‘trolling’, ‘flaming’ and ‘gaslighting’ makes me feel 

Social media is supposed to be a wonderful platform for people to engage with friends and family by spreading positive vibes and sharing good news. Yet, this masterpiece has been destroyed by evil people with bad intention that stays unknown and remains untraceable that leads to the culture of trolls and cyberbullies. How should we stop this and what are the ways to save these innocent lives?

What exactly is trolling and cyberbullying? 

According to Cambridge Dictionary (2019), trolling is the act of a group or an individual leaving an insulting message on the internet to annoy someone. Additionally, it can easily be found on the web, resulting in problems for businesses, people and the general wellbeing of some aspect of social media (Hanson 2016). As for cyberbullying, it is a practice where an individual or group send hurtful text or spread hatred towards another person on the internet in the form of message, social media post, and e-mail which are usually untrue just for the sake of mock, harm or harassment (Techopedia 2019). Basically, both trolling and cyberbullying are pretty much the same. Both can cause damage, emotional scarring, long-term symptoms of depression and even until the extend of suicide (Strutt Central 2012). Anderson (2018) asserted that there are 59% of U.S. teens that suffered from online bullying and harassment. However, teenagers mostly think that the government, education sector and social media companies failed to address the problem. Hence, this issue must be look into deeply in order to stop the collateral damage.

Here’s an example of  the effects of cyberbullying:

(Source :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auVtqQIcQFM)

How to eradicate cyberbullying?

Based on Techopedia (2019), there are several recommendations offered by the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) for the cyberbullying victims. When victim faced cyberbullying, he or she can block the cyberbullies on all social media platform. Next, report to website administrators that he or she encounter cyberbullies. Online users also can avoid or reject in sharing personal information online by making the profile private. Besides, if he or she is a minor victim, voice out to a trusted adult about cyberbullying would be a good choice as they can calmly aid us in tackling the issue.

Another approach is the implementation of AI technology on the internet. Currently, the machine learning algorithms can clearly detect suicidal tendencies with high accuracy via “neural representation of emotions”. The evolving “Emotion AI” has the potential to become a precious asset in identifying and preventing self-harm in the future. If a machine or system has the capability to interpret and analyse human emotion through face or voice recognition, it will be a tremendous leap forward for the use of AI in suicide prevention (Chester 2019).

Here are 5 ways of healing for cyberbullying victims:

Unplug from technology for a time.

Know that you are not alone.

Keep in touch and seek help from people who know about the cyberbullying attack.

Concentrate on enhancing your own self-worth.

Forgive and forget.

Let me end with these two bible verses:

To all the cyberbully out there, you must stop hatred now.

James 4:11-12 (CEV version) “My friends, don’t say cruel things about others! If you do, or if you condemn others, you are condemning God’s Law. And if you condemn the Law, you put yourself above the Law and refuse to obey either it or God who gave it. God is our judge, and he can save or destroy us. What right do you have to condemn anyone?”

To all the cyberbully victims, we’re on your side, you’re not alone.

Deuteronomy 31:6 (NLT version) “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord, your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” 

References

‘10 tips for healing after a cyberbully attack’ 2019, CMASAS, viewed 6 November 2019, <https://www.cmasas.org/blog/10-tips-healing-after-cyberbully-attack>.

‘Cyberbullying’ 2019, Techopedia, viewed 3 November 2019, <https://www.techopedia.com/definition/2389/cyberbullying>.

‘Trolling’ 2019, Cambridge Dictionary, viewed 4 November 2019, <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/trolling>.

Anderson, M 2018, A majority of teens have experienced some form of cyberbullying, Pew Research Center, viewed 5 November 2019, <https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/09/27/a-majority-of-teens-have-experienced-some-form-of-cyberbullying/>.

Chester, D 2019, How AI can help fight cyberbullying, TechTalks, viewed 6 November 2019, <https://bdtechtalks.com/2019/09/05/artificial-intelligence-online-bullying/>.

Hanson, J 2016, Trolls and their impact on social media, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, viewed 4 November 2019, <https://unlcms.unl.edu/engineering/james-hanson/trolls-and-their-impact-social-media>.

The TIME article in the learning materials for this module shows that, while some may dismiss trolls as harmless pranksters, they often exploit anonymity on social media to harass, embarrass, or intimidate others. The article provides many insights into how trolling can cause stress, anxiety, and fear for personal safety, particularly on platforms like X, which often fosters a culture of trolling and hostility. Many users on X seem to enjoy watching others get trolled, and trolling has increasingly become a form of entertainment.

As part of the Tumblr assignment, I watched a video by Pamela Jo Brubaker on combating internet trolls. The video explores the personality traits of people who engage in trolling, such as Machiavellianism and narcissism, and emphasizes the importance of understanding these traits for responsible social media use and for promoting empathy toward victims. In the TEDx video, Brubaker also highlights that we should not feed the trolls and encourages bringing humanity, love, and respect to online interactions.

Trolling can cause significant negative effects and mental and physical health such as disturbed sleep, depression, low self-esteem, and even self-harm. Trolls have created an environment of online hate that's starting to infect the normal standards of online communication. This is because online trolls flood our feeds with hate and negativity, and when our minds are filled with this, our mental health can be hit hard. Our reputation online tends to mean more to people than real world interactions, which is a recipe for disaster.