Internet Trolling
It is estimated that that the Internet has about 3.17 billion users, almost half the population of the world (Smith 2016[1]). With the growing number of internet and social media users, we witness an increase in antisocial behavior online. In this section, we explore the phenomenon of internet trolling and strategies for managing this disruptive online behavior taking the communication context into account.
“Sometimes trolls live under bridges. But not everyone living under a bridge is a troll.”
—Wikipedia Essay What is a Troll?
Definition of an Internet Troll
An Internet troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response, or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion, primarily for the troll’s own amusement.
Reading
Read the following, paying particular attention to strategies for dealing with trolling behavior.
- Internet Troll from Wikipedia;
- What is a troll? from Wikimedia;
- Types of Internet Trolls from Lifewire.
Media
Annotation – Research on Trolling
Read the following articles and add or reply to annotations using Hypothes.is focusing on how the research relates to your own online experience. Remember to tag your posts using the course code: lida102
- ‘Don’t Feed the Trolls’ Really is Good Advice – Here’s the Evidence by Evita March. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
- How Empathy Can Make or Break a Troll by Evita March. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
References
- Smith, K. (2016). Marketing: 96 Amazing Social Media Statistics and Facts. Brandwatch