The issue of
cyber trolling shot into online prominence with the tragic suicide of the 15
year old Amanda Todd. Innocent and trusting Amanda, then 13 was convinced to
flash her breasts by a smooth talking stranger over a webcam. The stranger
captured this image and tried to blackmail her for more private sessions. When
this failed, he mailed the picture to her friends and set off a relentless and
vicious cycle of cyber bullying. So persistent was the cyber bullying which
followed, that it ousted her from her school and locale, and even a full year
later when she was trying to put her life together in another place and school,
it caught up with her - leaving her nowhere to turn.
Wikipedia
define a troll as “someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic
messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the
primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise
disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”
The anonymous
nature of social networks limits individual accountability, and fuels the
resultant breakdown of social norms and rules which allows a small percentage
of netizens called cyber trolls to indulge unchecked in vile and deviant
behavior. Cyber trolls prowl social networks anonymously for every opportunity
to post slanderous or downright insulting remarks on people both living and
dead, who they may know in real life or are just strangers. They display no
morals when writing demeaning comments on RIP pages, hurling hurtful taunts and
issuing death threats to children, teenagers and even celebrities.
If
individuals try to fend off their vitriol, they retaliate in packs often
encouraged by others who apparently laugh at their jokes; fuelling their sadism
and egging them on.
Every person
expects a certain amount of abuse as part of everyday social networking, but
when it crosses a threshold, both children and adult have been driven to
depression, drugs and ultimately attempt suicide, triggered by the ensuing
feeling of helplessness. Help is not at hand from social networking sites as
they refuse to police these messages and mediate content, regardless of whether
it was "potentially" offensive or controversial unless it violates
their terms of service.
One of the
better options for victims is not to retaliate and try their best to ignore
these comments. If they attempt to fight back, it is seen as a weakness which
is exploited by the pack mentality of trolls and their supporters inviting a
further barrage of spite.
Cybercitizens
should not support cyber trolls by agreeing with them or egging them on. Not
feeding these trolls and condemning their activities will help rein in their
deviant behavior. While incidents of cyber bullying may be widespread, they
vary in severity. Serious cases are few, but concerns due to the potential of
the problem do exist. It is also important for parents to be aware if their
child is a victim or a perpetrator of cyber bullying.
Yes, cyberbullies, Cybertrolls, Cyberharrasser and Trolls or stalkers are the latest nuisance of the 21st century.
ReplyDeletebefore the Internet those sociopaths were mostly just Village Idiots and their "gossip" was not taken serious at all. But due to the anonymity of the Internet,they can now spread their malicious lies all other without fear (yet) of being harmed by th authorities. taking g into consideration, that 5-10 percent of the general Population have a sort of Disorder,which could lead to antisocial behaviour, there is a huge wave of problems still to be expected.
I myself have become victim of one of those elements lately :
http://guenthervomberg.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-cyberstalker-and-his-lies-exposed.html
The only recipe is to "counterblog" with the truth.