Trollolol
(Image by Steve Brodner via TIME)
Did you know that the word 'troll', which internet users tend to attribute to the creatures that hide under bridges waiting for prey actually originated from a term used to the described the catching of fish through the use of a baited line behind a boat (Thacker & Griffiths 2012)? The term was first used online in the 90s on Usenet forums, which was an early platform of online discussion boards and has slowly evolved to today's complex definition beginning with a person who seeks to provoke others online (Jukes 2012, p.36). The scope of an online troll is now broad and for me personally, I have used it to describe anyone from a person who performs the act of 'rickrolling' by sending a 'funny video' that turns out to be a link to Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. I have also referred to groups of people who band together online to post hateful comments as trolls.
(Image via MemeDroid)
On social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, the users who seek out others with the intent of antagonising them are commonly referred to as trolls (McCosker 2013, p. 5). In a 2014 survey, it was found that 70% of internet users aged 18 to 24 had experienced some form of harassment and 26% of women in that same age range had been stalked online (Stein 2016). What is it about the online realm that gives normal people the urge to heckle another person? The motives of internet users who intentionally create negative digital spaces by antagonising people have been strongly linked to reduced non-verbal cues, decreased inhibitions and degrees of anonymity that lead to regular people transforming into online bullies (Milne 2010, p. 171). For me, this phenomenon can be likened to perfectly calm people who become aggressive towards other drivers when they are driving simply because they don't see other vehicles as containing an actual person but rather just as cars.
I used to think that when people spoke about trolling they were just referring to pranking someone to annoy them for a laugh without causing real harm. However, the bottom line is that so much of this now leads to full-blown online bullying that causes negative effects in real life. I think the best way to fight these online bullies is to beat them at their own game but then do you, in turn become the troll? It’s a vicious cycle.
References
Jukes, P 2012, The Fall of the House of Murdoch: Fourteen Days That Ended a Media Dynasty, Random House, London.
McCosker, A 2013, 'Trolling as provaction: YouTube’s agonistic public’, Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New MediaTechnologies, vol. 20, issue 2, pp. 127 -128.
Milne, E 2010, Letters, Postcards, Email: Technologies of Presence, London, UK, Routledge.
Stein, J 2016, 'How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet',TIME Magazine, 18 August, viewed 25 May 2018, <http://time.com/4457110/internet-trolls/>.
Thacker, S and Griffiths, M.D 2012, 'An Exploratory Study of Trolling in Online Video Gaming’, Cyber Behaviour, Psychology and Learning, vol.4, issue 1, pp. 3-17.
