It Trolls For Thee Essay

The internet gives people a sense of power that causes them to say things online that they don’t have the courage to say in person. Being behind a computer

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

In the short article “The Flip side of Internet Fame” by Jessica Bennett, she argues that the internet should be only used in a proper manner. Not in a way that the internet is portrayed wrongly, such as cyberbullying. Bennett gives multiple allegations of how kids unwillingly went viral on the internet for embarrassing reasons such as “Dog poop Girl”, “Star wars”, and as well as “The Rapist”. While being bulled over the internet it will not only affect the individual that is being bullied, but the people who are viewing it as well. Cyberbullying is the epitome of what the internet should not be used for.

It is no secret that social media is seen as an “outlet,” where we can post our innermost thoughts and feelings, no matter how awful they are, and many times, without any consequence. The anonymity of social media bolsters some people to post rants, hate speech, and other offensive comments that they would almost certainly never say face to face. There have been multiple occasions throughout my life where I have witnessed people expressing such feelings on social media. However, there was one occasion in particular that has always, and will always, stick with me.

Life is a tough place where ideas and opinions can be smacked down by anyone at anytime, but because of the internet people can find a lifeline in others when they log online. However, not all ideas are constructive or destructive, but often when someone feels offended they look for someone else to confide in. Someone that understands them, relates to them, and accepts them. Seife observes in society that “The most potent weapon for fighting off uncomfortable facts is other people- a network of the faithful who are willing to believe with you (291)”. It is great when you finally find someone who understands you, when you are feeling alone. However, when people start looking online for support to do unfavorable things it can turn harmless quirks into negligent situations. Seife references Mrs. Martin, who was part of an apocalyptic cult and claimed that the “spaceman was going to come save her and her fellow followers the a few hours before the world was about to end (290)”. Naturally, this hasn’t happened yet as we are standing here today, but members of the group all sacrificed many things such as their homes, cars, and based on what one person said. This is why the internet is dangerous, anyone can share their ideas online and through the internet this process can happen at an exponential rate with even larger groups of

In “The Cyberbullying Problem is Overhyped,” an article by Tim Cushing, Cushing examines the publicity of Cyberbullying. He argues that Cyberbullying is a minuscule problem and states that those who claim it as a major issue “have nothing in form of hard data showing the threat matches the perception” (Cushing). Cushing critiques many sources that claim cyberbullying is a major issue, such as calling the statistical evidence of iSafe — a website that claims to be “the leader in internet safety education” (Cushing) — as “disingenuous.” Then, it is shown that iSafe claims that the organization if non-profit, which is false due to the fact they sell subscriptions for its users. The website is assumed to be not sincere because it is trying

It seems there is a problem on the Internet with certain types of messages that people post. There are people who argue that anyone has the right to say anything on the Internet. People do have the right of free speech, but the line should be drawn when it comes to hate messages. It is immoral-and should be illegal-to make remarks that are racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic. After all, these verbal attacks are no longer tolerated in the classroom or in the workplace, why should the Internet be different? The problem with the Internet is that there seems to be no established rules of etiquette among users, maybe there should be some guidelines about what people should and should not say on the Internet. Why should people be subjected to hate-filled

On august 23,2016 “The O’Reilly Factor” explored whether the internet is creating a culture of hate. With three panelists: Dr. Paul Bothe (DePaul University) and DR. Keith Ablow New Berryport messages. Dr. Ablow, claims that because people aren’t physically connecting, people have become apathetic. As well as, addresses exposure to more violence from radical groups and as a contributing factor along with bullying. However, Dr. Bothe claims that internet has not made people violent, but violence has existed always among humans- social media “brings it out in certain ways”. Dr. Bothe also, states that the internet isn’t the issue, but the people who use and abuse it are. Both address the psychological impact of bullying in connection to the

Coe, Kenski, & Rains (2014) observed the patterns and frequency of uncivil comments on a newspaper website. They used five key forms of common incivility found throughout literature. They constructed the table and provided definitions and examples of the five forms of operational incivility. Following a 3-week collection of uncivil comments on a newspaper website they concluded that 22% of comments contained some amount of incivility. Of the five forms of incivility they determined that name-calling was the most prevalent form of uncivil commentary. As shown in Table 1, incivility can range from name-calling to lying. For the purpose of this study, I will be using the five forms of incivility as trolling comments.

The internet has become detrimental. Trolls upset and provoke others by sending messages and comments. There is no real purpose behind their actions. People should not engage with troll comment threads. Reacting to the troll’s provocation is exactly what they want. Not reacting to a troll will cause the troll to get bored and look for another victim to react to the messages and comments. Victims should also block the person trolling them, and report them. Violence, health problems, and bullying have been increased much more with internet access; this is why comments on the internet should be moderated. People need to encourage community members to stop and report troll users.

This is seen through our infamous "Let me take a selfie" culture and our narcissistic lifestyles. Not only is this seen in real life but also on the internet. Because of the protection anonymity creates, one can choose to be whoever they want. And that much protection can ultimately become dangerous. Thanks to the internet, one can read some of the most disgusting and controversial comments and commentary. Users called 'trolls' incite arguments on social media for their enjoyment, many discussions can end horrifically, Comments such as "Go kill yourself' or "Drink Bleach" are increasingly becoming the norm. Several stories and cases have opened up on the subject on Cyberbullying such as the story of Amanda Todd and The Ryan Halligan Case (1989-2003). If it was not for initiative programs such as Cartoon Network's Stop Bullying Campaign and several startup programs in middle and high schools are all across America, the issue of bullying and showing intolerance towards each other would surely be more

He reveals in the broadcast that web trolls go so far as to invade ones privacy in order to tarnish their identity. An ex-boyfriend of English college professor Ann Marie Chiarini, set out seeking revenge on her by creating a fake profile under her name. He then posted nude pictures of her on the profile without her consent in an attempt to ruin her professional life. In addition, web trolls expose personal information such as home addresses and telephone numbers to harass and threaten their victims. Brianna Wu, an American video game developer has experienced these forms of online harassment when trolls displayed her home address online with an attached threat to murder her family. Moreover, web trolls are stealing personal images on social media accounts in order to rally up attacks against web users. In an attempt to rally up an attack on Shiree-Nicole Webb, an internet troll uploaded a picture of her two year old son claiming that he had down syndrome and that he was abused by his mother. This harassment was an attempt to unite those who found the image disturbing against her which resulted in a mass media attack. By means of destroy ing ones image, web trolls attack there victims by invade privacy. They do so by creating fake profiles, steeling personal images and displaying home addresses online. These forms

While many people use social media responsibly, others ruin the experience by bringing in hate from their own life and sharing it with others. A recent study proves that 7 in 10 people between the ages of 13 and 22 have been cyberbullied during at least one point of their lives; including my own brother. When my brother was in 8th grade, a group of his classmates ganged up on him and wrote some very offensive comments on one of his Instagram posts. He was very offended by the fact that somebody would take time out of their life, just to make

“The Loud, Ugly World of Online Commenting” by Benjamin West talks about the newest form of exploiting freedom of speech – online commenting. This mode of expression of speech was meant to voice opinions and critic pieces but, users have been using this mode to make nasty and rude comments. And what encourages this behavior is the anonymity, like Mike Krahulik suggests that “Normal person plus anonymity plus audience equals total dickward” when people are aware that their identities are hidden, they feel they are not responsible for the consequences of their words and feel free to be hateful. These hateful comments that individuals post in fact can have very serious consequences to the person it is addressed to and is a form of cyber bullying.

The Internet has become a vast and limitless place for education, entertainment, and community. It is an extraordinary virtual world that abets in satisfying our insatiable curiosity. Every World Wide Web voyager controls their adventure from the security of their living room cockpit while retaining anonymity through a username. From this invention we have changed our daily routines dramatically; we have developed a desire to share our thoughts and opinions with complete strangers. From these two key elements: ambiguity and self-expression a new being has been forged, The Internet Troll.