Troll. The word conjures an image of an ugly misshapen creature, feeding on fear, an evil being intent on doing damage. Modern trolls are such creatures. They prowl the Internet, looking for the vulnerable. Trolls are bullies. They spark anger and hostility through degrading or rude comments and posts on news feeds. They typically remain unnamed, hiding behind anonymous usernames or handles to spout their damaging words. Internet trolls can be found on a variety of websites. There are many heated topics up for debate on the Internet: gun control, foreign policies, abortion, religious beliefs, political views, the list goes on and on. These topics are hotspots for Internet bullies to go ‘trolling’.
Internet trolls are thought to bully other online users for many reasons. Personal issues such as grudges or boredom, psychological issues such as attention seeking or feelings of inadequacy, as well as other emotional or social problems may be at the root of the matter. Trolls tend to attack on issues where people feel very strongly or are emotionally attached to their points of view. Other times Internet trolls are just wanting to get a rise out of people.
According to Wolchover, & Life’s Little Mysteries (2012) comment threads can give people a false sense of accomplishment. A blogger at Daily Kos quoted in a July 23rd article, “There is so much going on in our lives that it is hard to find time to get out and physically help a cause which makes ‘armchair activism’ an
She goes into detail on several different forms of trolling and some of the situations in which it has been used to mock or harass people. When looking at her thesis, Zhou’s solution to trolling on the internet is to have different websites and social
The bullies could encourage others to be mean like them because it is “cool.” Many cyber bullies enjoy bullying people because it is funny or entertaining for them. This is why it happens so much including that it is the easiest way possible to bully someone online. Another reason why it spreads around is because the bullying could happen on any social media site or any websites, therefore it can be easily accessed and shared to many people. Once something is posted online, it will always be stored somewhere and it can never be permanently deleted.
Virtually all of us believe that we are in control of our lives but unconsciously the internet has managed to signification influence our actions, thoughts and beliefs. It has allowed us to think it’s normal to share our daily movements with our alleged followers, sharing our inner and deepest secrets; we are trying to make a lasting impression to the world while trying to seek external validation. Sometimes we compare our own lives to those of who we follow and become obsessed that our life doesn't live up to others, allowing us to create doubt in ourselves. Is it right that “girls seek comfort on social media when they are worried” rather than talking to her parents? No, it’s not! We as millions of us regularly seek external validation we leave the flood gates wide open for people to manipulate some vulnerable states of mind. The modern term associated with people that abuse the social network is – troll. “A troll in internet slang, is somebody who deliberately upsets others be starting arguments or posting inflammatory messages on blogs, chartrooms or forums” Therefore, the “anonymity of the internet is the perfect playground” for trolls, but we shouldn't let them prey on our vulnerability, we shouldn't succumb to the exploit they are trying to achieve. Trolls are experts on detecting your negativity and will play on that, knowing that you are anxious to
Trolling is the new title that has been given to harassment that takes place on the Internet. A common example of trolling would be sending provocative messages via a communications platform for the pure entertainment of the sender, which then has a harmful effect on the recipient. There are different types of trolling; messages sent to harm others for the sender’s gratification are called ‘flame trolls’, and those to entertain others for their gratification have been given the title ‘kudos trolls’ (Bishop 2012a, 2012b). Where these actions have the resource to legal remedies they are called ‘electronic message faults’ and where the message fails to constitute an offence ‘electronic message freedoms’, and there is quite rightly nothing to
At some point during your childhood, you may have encountered that troubled individual, typically known as the “bully” that drove fear in the hearts of the weakest link by humiliating them, taking what is rightfully theirs, constantly picking on them and sometimes even inflicting physical abuse. Well I hate to break it to you but this individual is back and is more equipped than before, preying on the weak and vulnerable in the cyber world (internet). Most recently, it took a crime wave of “cyber bullying” before our media and leaders in the Untied States gave it attention; now that the American people realize that the “classroom bully” has evolved into a more dangerously clever and
Daniel D’Addario wrote an article called “Everything is ‘Trolling’ Now,” which is about internet trolling. Trolling is generally regarded as an intentionally offensive remark or action against a person or group of people who hold a certain ideology in order to get a reaction (421). However, D’Addario takes note in the article of an apparent oversaturation of the word ‘troll.’ Individuals will call many different things a form of trolling, to the point that it seems as though just holding an opinion is enough to be considered as a personal attack against other people. D’Addario even mocks this by occasionally placing quotation marks around the word ‘troll,’ to call into question a particular instance of its usage. Through sourcing, comparisons,
When I hear the word troll, two very distinct images come to mind. The first is the fuzzy and yellow creature from Dora, the second is someone who abuses the internet's anonymity as a means to spread chaos without fear of penalty. To find a YouTube comment section without disorder from ignorance or arrogance is to find a four-leaved clover. The most awful of all are those who go out of their way to spread hate. Yet we shrug and call them trolls. Such nasty creatures they are. They bar bridges on the sole purpose to make everyone's life harder. While I can understand it's easier to say something mean behind a computer screen where the connection to the target is so impersonal, I can't seem to wrap my mind around the pure hatred certain
There could be a multitude of reasons and situational forces that cause an individual to bully another. It is possible that the bully is in desperate need to be accepted by their peers and feels that devaluing another individual raises their own worth. It could possibly be jealous of the person being bullied. Whether it is of social or economic status, their romantic status or just that person has something the bully cannot obtain.
Trolling has mostly been used by the “alt-right,” which is an “Internet-grown reactionary movement that works for men’s rights and against immigration.” Milo Yiannopoulos is a leader of the alt-right who was banned from Twitter for harassing Leslie Jones. He claims that trolling is due to liberals telling people what to do and what to say. In essence, The alt-right uses trolling to express their views.
Social Networking has taken bullying to the extreme. Before advanced technology, children and teenagers were troubled by school bullies. Today, they are targeted by bullies via internet. Most people undergo some form of bullying in life. Growing up, I experienced the typical name calling and spiteful comments. I also dealt with minor cases of virtual bullies. These bullies are known as cyber bullies. I find this topic compelling because it’s a matter that has spiraled out of control.
There are several ways that young people bully others online. They send e-mails or instant messages containing insults or threats directly to a person. They may also spread hateful, sexual, and/or pejorative comments about a person through e-mail, instant messaging or postings on Web sites and online blogs.
A cyber bully can be anyone who uses an electronic device to either stalk, threaten, harass or embarrass, or intimidate someone either through messaging, emails, photos or any type of social media.
Bullying is a bad thing but the worst of all the types of bullying is cyber bulling, it is a terrible weapon that can destroy someone's life and reputation. Cyber bullying is a part of bullying in which a person torments or harasses other people in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner, with technology. It has had a much greater effect on the world more than the traditional way of bullying.
Due to this easy access to a digital platform and worldwide audience, many see this as an opportunity for sharing ideas, thoughts, beliefs and practising freedom of speech. For many this is a great opportunity to reach out and connect with people from across the globe through their online ‘profiles’. Some people find that a digital voice or message has a greater effect than a literal voice thus boosting people’s confidence in sharing things with others online. Although this can be viewed as a positive way of allowing someone to communicate their thoughts with others, some individuals take this opportunity of being hidden behind a screen to spread hateful, rude and disrespectful comments with others on the worldwide web. These individuals, often referred to as ‘trolls’ will often mock, threaten, and sometimes blackmail others using their online profiles. Jonathan Bishop claims that “trolling in general is the posting of messages via a communications network that are intended to be provocative, offensive or menacing”. (Bishop, 2013, p28)
Power-hungry people do it to torment others and social popularity. Revenge of the nerd may start out as defending themself from traditional bullying only to find that he or she enjoys being the tough guy. Mean girls do it to help bolster, or remind people, of their own social standing. Some think they are justifying the wrong and standing up for others. In general, cyberbullies have their own motives on why they are involved in cyberbullying. Some of their intentions have been identified as anonymity, power, attention, retaliation, boredom, jealousy, and the pleasure of inflicting pain. Numerous people who participate in cyber bullying do it to make themselves feel better. Bullies tend to have much insecurity, but they hide them through insulting others.