Trolls... every time I hear the word I still think of the mythical monster hiding under the bridge. And even I'll admit that i was pretty scared of them when i was little. "We can't cross the bridge mum, the troll will get us!" I mean, it wasn't the most realistic fear because i didn't know that trolls didn't exist. If only I knew what I knew now. But today, trolls don't live under a bridge, they live on your computer.
So trolls go under the "non-harmful" side of kind of internet bullying, but not really, but still kind of. Trolls don't really go out to harm anyone in what they are saying, instead they try and illicit a reaction from anyone on the internet. Now that reaction can either be good or bad, but most forms of trolling are just meant to be funny. Majority of people on the internet can pick up on trolls, but for those very few who are stupid enough to react to the comments- are the people that trolls fuel their fire from. If something sounds stupid and over the top, then it's probably someone behind a computer that is stupid and over the top. They just want to see how people will react if they write that stupid comment. Usually the reactions are the funniest to read, but just don't react to trolls. It's better for us all in the end.
Trolling always comes along with the subject of cyber-bullying. I think these are 2 completely different mediums. Trolls usually just want a reaction from people, funny or not i.e. rick rolling (which i still find funny, by the way). Where as cyber bullying is personally attacking someone online, just to hurt them. Bullying someone in real life or online is just plain wrong. But online, you can just turn off your computer or phone (also good for trolls) to ignore the harassment. I don't think that many people (teenagers especially) understand that whatever you put online, you are essentially putting up for either praise or ridicule. You can never gage how people are going to react to what you post, you just need to trust and hope that you are putting it out to the right people, that you trust. I hope that doesn't defend cyber bullying though, because that is someone who is going out of their way to attack someone. So cyber bullying and trolling shouldn't come into the same play.
Of course if someone random on the internet is telling you to 'kill yourself' that isn't a troll. And you should report that stuff! But it is so hard to regulate cyber bullying. It is such a new form of public ridicule that governments can't decide to put laws on it, without public complaints. The internet has become such a free space to say whatever you want, and now some people have taken advantage of that. The fact is that trolling is usually harmless...
YEAH YOU JUST GOT RICK ROLLED!
Anyway trolling can be funny to watch and read, because people always over react to it! But it should never be mixed with cyber bullying, because once something is an attack on someone else. We've gotta draw a line! So people of the internet need to defend others when they see any forms of bullying, but not by being a bully back either. because that always seems to happen. Maybe one day we'll reach a happy medium. But until then, I look forward to never giving up, never letting you down, never running around and hurting you.
