The impact of troll users in the online world
The emergence of new media (blogs, social media, forums, online gaming, etc.) has brought with it a new type of audience. As journalism rapidly makes the transition from print to digital, readers are no longer limited to expressing their opinions in the privacy of their home, or taking the time to write letters to various publications. The Digital Age has given readers the ability to instantly respond, or “comment,” on any forum, blog post, YouTube video, and any other publicly made digital initiative. Essentially, it has allowed us to all become critics. Click on an article on Facebook, and you’re able to “comment” just about anything you want, whether it’s content-related or completely pointless.
The Digital Age has given readers the ability to instantly respond, or “comment”, on any forum, bog post, Youtube video, and any other publicly made digital initiative.
“Trolling” has been another result of new media in the Digital Age. Though there is no set definition, a troll is commonly known as a user who intentionally spreads negativity in order to trigger a reaction. By popular definition, trolls participate in discussions with the full intent to hurt other readers. It is a practice commonly associated with cyberbullying.
YouTube is a platform that undergoes an ongoing public battle with trolling. Featuring one of the most cut-throat comment sections on the web, anyone who uses YouTube is not ignorant to the negativity and hatred that spreads throughout the spaces below its videos.
Reddit is also a popular platform that supports troll activity, and is part of a constant debate within the online community due to its notorious spread of gallows humour.
Administrators of blogs and online publications try to combat the effects of trolling by filtering comments, disabling anonymity, and even blocking certain users from commenting. However, these attempts at censorship are no match for Facebook, especially in terms of publications that have a strong social media presence. Though administrators can censor the comments and slow the extent of trolling on their own websites, once an article goes viral on Facebook, it’s open for attack. In these spaces, trolls intervene and make it their mission to spark a reaction amongst readers. Viral videos and articles, such as the blue/gold dress mystery and other pop culture phenomenon, are fruitful spaces for trolls to thrive in.
Trolling is not limited to comment sections, and can also take the form of Twitter handles. For example, during the landfall of Hurricane Sandy, a user famously took to their Twitter handle to report fake live stories and photos of the incident, to the point that legitimate news sources were retweeting these stories.
The issue of trolling raises questions regarding speech censorship and the right to anonymity. Many instances have occurred where popular YouTube users have disabled their comments sections.
…once an article goes viral on Facebook, it’s open for attack.
In terms of trolling, I often find myself battling with discouragement after creeping through comment sections and forums. It can be very disheartening to read relentless comments attached to an innocent YouTube video. It’s difficult to find an online article about a recent shooting or other horrible tragedy, read the bigotry that’s expressed in the article’s comment section, and not want to lose all faith in humanity. The internet forms this very weird illusion that the views that are being expressed by its users are the views of most of the world – a complete deception, since it is merely the views of those that have access to a computer.
However, it is becoming popular for forums and blogs to provide an option for users to rate other users’ posts. The top-rated posts are featured at the top of the discussion. This option diverts attention away from troll posts, as the top-rated posts are readily available to readers and discourages discussion around less popular posts. The underlying impact of this feature is that it encourages a community-based response to harmful posts. It becomes reassuring to see a collective of users step in and retaliate against negativity. The option to rate posts encourages online communities to reassert certain values, and reminds readers that the majority of online users do not condone trolling behaviour.
Though trolling can be extremely detrimental (look at GamerGate, for instance) banning anonymity doesn’t seem like the most logical route to take, and pushes the possibility of instilling a tyrannical structure over the web. What makes the online world so intriguing is the ability to be anonymous and to play with identity – the ability to communicate in ways that are not possible in person. That being said, with anonymity comes those who will abuse the privilege. How do we then, as users, protect ourselves from being attacked by the inevitable trolls? With a hyper-expanding digital reality, we, as users, have the responsibility to establish digital social standards in order to protect our online selves.