The Culture of Trolling

-Chinmoyee Deka |

A troll, by definition, is a person who starts internet wars by intentionally hurting people on social media by posting insulting, digressive or extraneous messages with the intent of provoking readers into reacting emotionally and normalizing tangential discussion, either for the troll’s amusement or a specific gain.

Having access to the internet does not necessitate a presence on social media. People can benefit from the internet even without being on social media platforms but due to the cheap and easy access to internet connection and smartphones, every other person is on social media and uses its features to speak their minds.

Trolling is a culture that bred out of social media usage. No matter how big or small a mistake might be, it does not even take a minute for a derogatory meme to get viral. These memes not only make fun of a person or an act but also generalizes many otherwise uncommon incidents.

For instance, when a story of bad behavior by a doctor towards a patient hits the internet, trolls generalizing all doctors as the same and calling the profession ‘not so noble’ floats all across social media. No one really tries to know what happened in that particular incident or takes into account the fact that it may be an exception.

Trolling has now taken the shape of threats. Women are an easy target here. A woman uploads a photo wearing shorts and the whole world bleeds their fingers in the comment section writing vomit. They will call out the girl, give her rape threats, pretend to teach ‘sanskar’, and portray themselves as the more civilized. What is even funnier is that most people think it is their moral duty to do so.

However, recently one particular trolling caught my attention. M.S. Dhoni’s five-year-old daughter Ziva was given rape threats in response to her father’s poor performance in a franchise cricket match. There are multiple levels of absurdity here. Not only is she a young child, but she is also the daughter of the one who is being trolled. Looks like trolling the person directly is too old fashioned now. Another disgusting fact is that these rape threats made the rounds when the country is already burning in the flames of the Hathras rape case. A few days ago the entire country was mourning for a daughter and now the same country sends out rape threats to another daughter? There is every possibility that these are not the same people but what this shows is how ignorant and fearless the citizens are of the law in this country. This brings me to another important aspect; Cyber laws.

The miscreants who spread hate throughout are confident that no one can reach them through their screens and drag them to courts. Stricter cyber laws are even more important in India now because the number of social media users is increasing rapidly. When every random person is given a platform, random and bizarre opinions are expected but some control is necessary. Many trolls may have personal agendas and hurt someone’s privacy and sentiments deeply. In India, we all are rewarded the right to have opinions but in no way should that have a negative impact on the other person’s right to sport a view. So, social media platforms must be monitored in a way that hate-speeches, threats, and slurs of any kind can be detected faster and there is always a way to find the source. This will not only make the users feel safe but also ensure quality content.

World Mental Health Day was observed on the 10th of October and this directs my attention to the mental effects that trolling has on the concerned person and anybody else who feels connected to it. It is very easy to call out a person for a mistake but it is also very wrong to judge someone by their worst mistake. One must realize that it is people we are talking about here and people make mistakes.

Did no one make mistakes before? Did they never learn from their mistakes without being trolled?

The fact that people derive pleasure by pointing out other’s mistakes and applauding their weakness is fundamentally wrong. These trolls do not benefit anyone instead, they influence people to get involved in unnecessary discussions. Once a meme or tweet by a troll becomes viral, individuals will start talking about it either in favor of or against and fight amongst themselves. In many friend groups and families, these become a topic of debate that does not result in anything conclusive. So, instead of being a part of the problem spreading it far and wide, one must invest their time in finding a solution.

What social media does to people is that it puts the person behind the screen on a high pedestal from where he or she feels powerful enough to insult a person whom they would otherwise have no access to at all. Also, most of the time the trolling reflects a weaker and inferior personality of the troller. They do not have the courage to speak on the face so they use the mask of social media. This is why it has become easier for people with hidden agendas to attack people they do not like and also guide hatred towards them in the form of reckless responses by others.

Ever thought why no one trolls environment offenders, rapists, animal abusers, or corrupt officials?