Internet Trolling is More Than Just the Little Green Monster Under a Bridge
Among others, there are two main reasons why internet trolling happens:
- Anonymity
- Lack of direct consequence
According to Rainie, Anderson, and Albright, anonymity “…is an element that…[enables] bad behavior and [facilitates] “uncivil discourse” in shared online spaces (Rainie, Anderson, & Albright, 2017). This idea is especially present in social media today. The term “hate comments” has become quite prevalent among many social influencers. Anonymous (and sometimes even identified) users tear the influencer down through heinous remarks.
To see how easily this trolling can be found, I decided to look at the most recent photo of social influencer, Nikita Dragun. Nikita is a transgender YouTuber and make-up artist. Quickly upon scrolling, I saw the comment “Well at least ur friend has a real gender” (Instagram, 2020). I clicked to the profile and noticed that this person has no profile picture, zero photos, and is solely following verified Instagram users. This is anonymous trolling.
Morally, many of us can probably agree that partaking in trolling is neither a kind action nor the smartest. So why do individuals keep doing it? There is a lack of direct consequence that makes the act of trolling incredibly easy. A comment is posted, and that’s that. The worst thing that could really happen is that the user is reported and banned from the app.
Many social media have implemented regulations to try and combat trolling, yet the guidelines aren’t perfect. Right now, Instagram provides users with public accounts the opportunity to limit who can comment on their photos (e.g. people they follow, only their followers, etc.) (Kastrenakes, 2017). Additionally, the app has a comment filter that detects any foul language or harassment. Again, this isn’t perfect. In the above example, there technically wasn’t any “foul” language, so the tool didn’t register it as harassment.
Personally, I haven’t experienced any online trolling, and I don’t know others close to me that have experienced it either. However, if I were receiving hate comments or something of the sort, I think it would be best to either delete the comment, report the user, block the individual, or all three. Negative feedback can take a toll on mental health, and no online comment is truly worth feeling down about oneself. Thus, eliminating the problem as much as possible is best.
