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Recently we all have been reading those words, and I noticed that most people using them don't really know what they mean, so I decided to make a post about it to make sure we all understand what the topic is really about, what abuse and trolling really means.
So during my research I found an article published by The Sun containing the main definition of what a troll is like: "A troll is someone who writes deliberately controversial comments online, with the aim of provoking a reaction." "The word 'troll' is slang for a person who deliberately starts arguments on the internet with the aim of provoking an individual or group into a reaction."
Trolls are constant presences on every social media, online chat rooms and so on, they can be easily identified by the way they announce themselves, or the way they speak, or how they choose targets with no specific reasons and attack them over and over again. They take pleasure in the attention they get from people in general, the more yelling the meririer, the more frustration they cause the happier they feel, for them it's like a job well done. We have exemples of those individuals daily on social media, that attack celebrities aiming to get the attention of their fan base, who will not let bad comments against their idols go unnoticed.
It's hard to understand why they do it, I don't see how is possible for any human being to legit take pleasure in hurting others with mean comments online, I don't know what makes a person think they're so entitled to offend and attack others; it's a true mystery to me. Maybe they have sad lives, maybe violence is all they know, maybe they're trolled and bullied in real life and the internet gives them this twisted idea of a power they don't have, a right they don't possess.
Now back to the article, the main recommendation they give to people in general is to ignore the trolls. They feed of the attention given, with zero attention, with no audience, with no one to get the bait, they tend to leave, no drama then no fun.
"Trolls will make deliberately cruel, racist, homophobic and sexist comments - or even tell people to kill themselves - then sit back to enjoy the outraged responses."
One side comment about the excerpt from the article: I have seen those kind of people online, and it is disgusting. Something I always say to others be it online or not, is that you never know what that person might be going through, you don't know if that other human being suffers from any disease, mental health issues etc. Sometimes that person has been through so much, that what seems to be a "joke" something "harmless" was the last draw for that person make the decision of committing suicide. Most that are reading may think, wow so dramatic, but I've seen it happen. I know what real abuse and trolling can do to people.
So now we know what trolling really means, and how trolls operate, now let's talk about abuse. By definition abuse means two things:
- use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse.
- treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly.
And just like the trolling it starts with no reason, because let's face it, no one has a real reason to treat others like trash in this planet, no matter the color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, origin. No one has the right to verbally abuse anyone.
This is an excerpt from an artcile by the Huffington Post: "Women’s experiences in online spaces - particularly those of us who express feminist sentiments - are often characterised by sexist harassment and abuse. We are called bitches, whores and worse; we endure uninvited sexual comments and images, messages encouraging us to suicide, threats of violence and rape and appraisals of our bodies from men contemplating how rapeable we are."
That is an exemple of what abuse really is.
All those two terms explained above are tied to a bigger issue, that has caused more damage than we dare to admit, especially among teenagers, and that is cyberbulling. Accordind to the Cambrige dictionary, cyberbully means: someone who uses the internet to harm or frighten another person,especially by sending them unpleasant messages.
So by definition a cyberbully is someone who intentionally targets someone wit the intent of harming them, of causing them pain.
Now that we know what those words really mean, I thinkn we all (and I include myself in it) should stop and think about how we act towards people in general. The trolling happens even when we don't have the intention of doing so. It starts with a comment, something we think is so small, but for others are just too big and too upsetting. In some cases we do have a tad of intention of starting all that just cause we have the dellusional idea we have the right to say whatever we want, and yet we don't expect to find someone who will talk back. So what happens when you start the abuse and get abused back, and complains about this abuse? Is it really a fair complaint since you provoked it all? What happens when your opinion offends people and you think no one is allowed to voice their thoughts? In my opinion it puts you in the same place of an abuser/troll/cyberbully, you're no better than they are.
So during my research I found an article published by The Sun containing the main definition of what a troll is like: "A troll is someone who writes deliberately controversial comments online, with the aim of provoking a reaction." "The word 'troll' is slang for a person who deliberately starts arguments on the internet with the aim of provoking an individual or group into a reaction."
Trolls are constant presences on every social media, online chat rooms and so on, they can be easily identified by the way they announce themselves, or the way they speak, or how they choose targets with no specific reasons and attack them over and over again. They take pleasure in the attention they get from people in general, the more yelling the meririer, the more frustration they cause the happier they feel, for them it's like a job well done. We have exemples of those individuals daily on social media, that attack celebrities aiming to get the attention of their fan base, who will not let bad comments against their idols go unnoticed.
It's hard to understand why they do it, I don't see how is possible for any human being to legit take pleasure in hurting others with mean comments online, I don't know what makes a person think they're so entitled to offend and attack others; it's a true mystery to me. Maybe they have sad lives, maybe violence is all they know, maybe they're trolled and bullied in real life and the internet gives them this twisted idea of a power they don't have, a right they don't possess.
Now back to the article, the main recommendation they give to people in general is to ignore the trolls. They feed of the attention given, with zero attention, with no audience, with no one to get the bait, they tend to leave, no drama then no fun.
"Trolls will make deliberately cruel, racist, homophobic and sexist comments - or even tell people to kill themselves - then sit back to enjoy the outraged responses."
One side comment about the excerpt from the article: I have seen those kind of people online, and it is disgusting. Something I always say to others be it online or not, is that you never know what that person might be going through, you don't know if that other human being suffers from any disease, mental health issues etc. Sometimes that person has been through so much, that what seems to be a "joke" something "harmless" was the last draw for that person make the decision of committing suicide. Most that are reading may think, wow so dramatic, but I've seen it happen. I know what real abuse and trolling can do to people.
So now we know what trolling really means, and how trolls operate, now let's talk about abuse. By definition abuse means two things:
- use (something) to bad effect or for a bad purpose; misuse.
- treat (a person or an animal) with cruelty or violence, especially regularly or repeatedly.
And just like the trolling it starts with no reason, because let's face it, no one has a real reason to treat others like trash in this planet, no matter the color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, origin. No one has the right to verbally abuse anyone.
This is an excerpt from an artcile by the Huffington Post: "Women’s experiences in online spaces - particularly those of us who express feminist sentiments - are often characterised by sexist harassment and abuse. We are called bitches, whores and worse; we endure uninvited sexual comments and images, messages encouraging us to suicide, threats of violence and rape and appraisals of our bodies from men contemplating how rapeable we are."
That is an exemple of what abuse really is.
All those two terms explained above are tied to a bigger issue, that has caused more damage than we dare to admit, especially among teenagers, and that is cyberbulling. Accordind to the Cambrige dictionary, cyberbully means: someone who uses the internet to harm or frighten another person,especially by sending them unpleasant messages.
So by definition a cyberbully is someone who intentionally targets someone wit the intent of harming them, of causing them pain.
Now that we know what those words really mean, I thinkn we all (and I include myself in it) should stop and think about how we act towards people in general. The trolling happens even when we don't have the intention of doing so. It starts with a comment, something we think is so small, but for others are just too big and too upsetting. In some cases we do have a tad of intention of starting all that just cause we have the dellusional idea we have the right to say whatever we want, and yet we don't expect to find someone who will talk back. So what happens when you start the abuse and get abused back, and complains about this abuse? Is it really a fair complaint since you provoked it all? What happens when your opinion offends people and you think no one is allowed to voice their thoughts? In my opinion it puts you in the same place of an abuser/troll/cyberbully, you're no better than they are.
I thought it would be a good thing to settle the difference between real bullying/trolling/abusing and what people seem to think they are. The post is with the intent of clarification and reflection on the topic, nothing more. When I mention the giving opinion part is not to honest/strong opinions in general, but it's about people who are actually trolling/abusing/bullying and don't want to admit. You don't have that bullying material in you because you speak your mind 
