What I use to think of when I heard the word “troll.” Or maybe I’m just showing my age. (Original image taken by Cali4beach.)
Ok admittedly, I’m a pretty late adopter of social media as a communication tool. I’ve only recently started blogging and following other blogs, I signed up to twitter only a few months ago and heck, I really only signed up to facebook because I caved to peer pressure.
But I’m now realising how powerful social media tools can be in the world of communication. However, it seems as with all modes of communication, some people are just going to use it for nefarious purposes.
Trolls, no longer just mythical monsters
So being a social media noob, it’s probably not all that surprising that I didn’t know much about “trolling,” but I was enlightened after an episode of Insight a couple of weeks ago.
Trolling is “the act of posting inflammatory, extraneous or off-topic messages in an online community, such as forums, chat rooms, or blogs, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”
Due to the nature of online communication, trolls can post these comments anonymously (or under a pseudonym), allowing them to (by and large) escape formal persecution.
A Trollface. According to urbandictionary.com, “A rather deformed face meant to display the expression that trolls have whilst angering people.” (Image obtained from Open Clip Art library.)
In its mildest form (e.g. just posting off-topic comments), trolling just seems like a waste of time and in its most vicious form (e.g. posting offensive comments on a tribute site for a lost loved one), it seems extremely cruel and unwarranted. But maybe that’s just the way I’m wired. Literally.
Better than sex?
One of the trolls that was interviewed on this particular episode of Insight said that trolling is how she gets her kicks. Aside from the moral and ethical boundaries that I personally believe this behaviour crosses, this idea is hard for my brain to fathom; that some trolls just do what they do for fun.
When our bodies receive an external “pleasurable” stimulus (e.g. when eating delicious food), a chemical called dopamine is released into the reward or pleasure centre of our brain (which is explained in a bit more detail here).
This induces a sense of pleasure that motivates us to repeat this behaviour (a sensation which forms the core of addictions).
So is my distaste of trolling like my aversion to say… rockmelon? And conversely, is a love of trolling like my love of eating good chocolate?
Not just bullies
While conventional (“school-yard”) bullying often stems from a desire to be socially accepted by certain peer groups (and perhaps even display dominance over them), it appears that most trolls act individually and completely anonymously (although there isn’t a whole lot of research in this area yet).
Thus, I find it hard to dismiss this behaviour as an act of “trying to fit in with the cool kids.” So it would seem that trolls really do just want to stir the pot.
I’d love to hear from those that participate in trolling just for the fun of it – Why do you do it? And does it give you the same sensation as when you’re eating your favourite food? Or when you’re flirting with someone you’re attracted to? I’m willing to be educated in this matter.
That’s a good point Brian – I’ve always wondered how the term “troll” started being used in the context of online communications. I guess no matter how the term came about, the impression that I got from watching the show was that trolling” now covers a wide spectrum of online behaviour. Aside from the really cruel trolls (e.g. those that post inappropriate comments on memorial sites), one of the trolls interviewed on the show said that he just trolls to call people up on their BS. So this kind of adds to the confusion and perhaps one definition or term is not enough to cover it.
I saw the insight program too. I was surprised that none of the “experts” seemed to know the etymology of the word. In this sense, “troll” is borrowed from the story of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff where the smaller billy goats convinced the troll under the bridge to attack successively larger goats until the biggest one came along and the troll was butted into the middle of next week.
Thus, trolls hold the bridge (some perceived point of logic/factoid) against all comers until pwned. These other people in my opinion should not really be called trolls but that is what happens when people who do not really understand something try to define it. I say this with some irony because I must point out that I am far from being an internet expert but I AM an etymology nerd (lol) and that was the derivation I was given.
It seemed to me the “experts” were internet outsiders and not regular users and reminded me of when state attorneys general were getting appalled at Grand Theft Auto long after it had spawned a bevvy of sequels and an entire genre of clones. You could tell they didn’t spend much time with a playstation controller in their hands.