Trolling In Social Media

In the essay Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt, by Julie Zhou, her thesis is “But the law by itself cannot do enough to disarm the internet’s trolls. Content providers, social network platforms and community sites must also do their part by rethinking the systems they have in place, for user commentary so as to discourage- or disallow- anonymity.” Zhou’s thesis is located in the first two sentences of paragraph nine, on page 89. 2. The issue Zhou addresses in this essay is trolling on the internet.

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are huge contributors to cyberbullying. These social network sites grant their members the privilege to engage in the actions of the attacker which is a menace. A majority of the cyberbullied population have committed suicide due to the abusive comments. Cyberbullying has gone into a hyper drive with new devices and faster types of social media.

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

What is cyberbullying? “Cyberbullying is the use of the Internet, smartphones, or other electronic communication devices to spread harmful or embarrassing information about another person” (Cyberbullying). Cyberbullying is very well known to the world of social media. We used to have bullies who would harass us at school which was bad enough but now worth cyberbullying it follows our teenagers everywhere. Home used to be a safe place but our technology no longer allows that safe place. Not only is the cyberbullying bad for the victim but it is also bad for the person on the other side of the screen making these vicious comments. Anyone can go online and say whatever they want about another person because they are not

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

However, as more as the prevalence of cyberbullying climbs so do the people saying just what Brett Warnke says in his article “The Danger of Cyberbullying”, “why don’t kids just unplug?” Well, the thing is, that they can’t. Social media is everywhere and people are integrating it into everything now. Going back to Warnke’s article, Eden Foster comments on technology, “[The] use of technology has extended beyond simple entertainment”. Humans now use technology, not only to entertain ourselves, but also in our everyday lives, it’s like it’s “infiltrated the confines of the home” (Warnke 24). Things that happen solely online affect us in real life, especially negative things such as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is something that, according to Kirk Sigmon in his article titled “Sacrificing the First Amendment to catch ‘Cyberbullies’”, children should be able to avoid and ignore, but it just doesn’t happen that way. In The Ophelia Project’s fact sheet on cyberbullying there is a statistic that states “60% of targets said that their online experiences as a target of cyberbullying affected them at school, home, and with friends and reported experiencing feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness,” showing that these negative online experiences follow a person into the outside world. The feelings mentioned in the statistic can lead to a victim to hurt themselves or to develop mental issues, which is exactly what

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

Trolling brutally sabotage the victims’ life long achievements. Trolls viciously post and spread rumors or secrets about victims destroying every parts of their lives. Trolls argue that victims do not need to see the posts or comments. The victims can simply log off from social network services, or close the accounts if necessary.

On the other hand, author Vyshali Manivannan’s article “When “Trolling” Becomes an Umbrella Term” define's trolling in a broader way. His approach is more practical with less emotion. Although he also defines it as a personal attack on an individual, he includes cypher attacks on things such as businesses and politics too. His point was that there are many facets to it. He felt the best way to resolve the problem is to have multiple "tactical and ethical" rules and laws for different offenses.

In the article “How Trolls Are Ruining the Internet,” by Joel Stein, Stein asserts that Internet culture has changed, and not in a respectable way. At one point in time, the Internet was a friendly place that was focused on information being available for everyone. Now, it’s a cold, unwelcoming place to those who seek out personal help. People often harass others whenever they seek out assistance that isn 't fact-based.

Social media should not moderate the comments or points of views from society due to the fact that everyone has the right to express what is on their mind. The U.S. created the First Amendment which protects the freedom of expression in essence, giving society the ability to state their opinion without fear of retribution. It is difficult to think of negative, hurtful, and spiteful comments being protected by the freedom of speech. The information and posts on social media has such a great influence over the population of the world, however it is important to remember that trolls as well as their comments should be taken lightly yet respected because it is their own opinion. Nonetheless people have become highly sensitive to trolls or any comments in which they might not agree with. Additionally it seems that trolls have a strong hold in social media yet, who are these trolls? Trolls make heinous comments on social media and are thrilled to keep anonymity as their profile. People who are behind an electronic screen are not always the most transparent and credible commentators. Many will argue that censorship is needed in social media as it could prevent excessive negativity online. Although this may have a case, if people allowed censorship of harsh and hateful believes what else will be censored in the future. Censorship in social media has the potential to create a deceitful view of society.

Cyber bullying is becoming a bigger and bigger problem on social networking sites. There have been quite a few teenage suicides in which cyber bullying seems to have played a role. In at least one case, the suicide of Alexis Pilkington, the bullying kept going on her tribute page even after her death. (Glor) “Cyber-Bullying can cause the victim to become chronically depressed and to experience a complete loss of self-esteem. A short exposure to Cyber-Bullying can have long term effects. It can result in Cyber-Bullying Suicides.” (Cyber-Bullying Suicides - Cyber Bullycide Victims ) It has many forms such as degradation, harassment, cyber stalking, impersonation, flaming (using vulgar and angry language to start fights with the victim), password theft and hacking accounts, posting photos or videos, among several others. (Cyber-Bullying Suicides - Cyber Bullycide Victims ) Bullying has been around way before the internet, but now that it is online, rumors, pictures or other forms of cyber bullying make their way around the community much faster so it is easier to humiliate someone in front of more people. “In the Internet era, it appears there are more people interested in spewing hate than in countering it. On the social networking sites and on YouTube, inflammatory, hate-filled content overwhelms the limited efforts to

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)