IS TROLLING CYBER HARASSMENT?
We’ve all had our fair share of conflicts and trolling on social media, especially for those that faced with long restrictions - social media was an escape and a way to feel connected to the rest of the world. Debates on vaccinations, restrictions and the management of the pandemic - were just a few of the popular conversations circulating on social media. There were times when these debates and conflicts would be so heated, that you would have no option but to turn on flight mode and disconnect for a while. And in some cases, you really questioned if that one acquittance was serious or if they were just trying to get under your skin and troll you?
So how do we know the difference?
“Cyberbullying and internet trolling are both forms of online aggression or cyber harassment,” (Zezulka,2016).
According to the Australian E-Safety Commissioner, there is a fine line between trolling and flaming (a form of cyberbullying). Even though both are widely known to be online harassment, flaming is in the form of a personal attack - online hate. Whereas trolling is provocation to trigger anger and frustration (e-safety,2022).
The simplest way we can differentiate the two concepts is by understanding the intention behind both acts.
Trolling:
As Professor Raychelle Cassada Lohmann has simply identified that the trolling method is (for the troll) a source of entertainment and pleasure and its main objective is to bait online users into an argument. This further triggers an emotional response by the receiver to also be argumentative and offensive. Ultimately meeting the troll’s intent in which they have now gained the attention and recognition of others which makes them feel powerful (Lohmann, 2014).
Flaming:
So here we can see that for trolling to take place, there needs to be retaliation for the objective to be met. However, on the other hand, flaming is repetitively targeting someone by harassing and threatening them to make them feel humiliated and intimidated (Lohmann, 2014). Like trolling, the aggressor also intends to feel a sense of power over the receiver, however the main objective is mostly to create emotional and psychological stress and destroy self-esteem (Peled, 2019).
Check out the video below if you want to have a deeper understanding of why online trolls act the way they do:
REFERENCES
Zezulka, u 2016, viewed 1 May, 2022, <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314219444_Differentiating_Cyberbullies_and_Internet_Trolls_by_Personality_Characteristics_and_Self-Esteem>.
Esafety 2022, viewed 1 May, 2022, <https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/trolling>.
Lohmann, R 2014, Trolling or Cyberbullying? Or Both?, viewed 1 May, 2022, <https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/teen-angst/201401/trolling-or-cyberbullying-or-both>.
Peled, Y 2019, Cyberbullying and its influence on academic, social, and emotional development of undergraduate students, viewed 1 May, 2022, <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844018359474>.
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