"Trolling" in Different Countries

The growth of the internet at a means of communication has sparked the interest of researchers to investigate the issues surrounding the expression of different social behaviors and of special interest them is the increased importance of anonymity. Phenomenon derived therefrom, such as trolling, appears to be part of an international phenomenon that includes cyber bullying.

China

In China, trolling is referred to "white eye", which can be straightforwardly explained as "eyes without pupils", in the sense that whilst the pupil of the eye is used for vision, the white section of the eye cannot see, and trolling involves blindly talking nonsense over the internet, having total disregard to sensitivities or being oblivious to the situation at hand, akin to having eyes without pupils. It's not very often to hear news or read reports about trolling in China, probably because people cannot use twitter or Facebook arbitrary. Currently in mainland China, citizens cannot directly log in Twitter, etc. It can only be connected through a VPN service to access Twitter's official website. In addition, China is not a country of free speech, citizens cannot make remarks with insults, provocations or threats, for many, the ferocity and personal nature of the abuse verges on hate speech. So it is clear from this research that trolling isn’t an issue in China due to their minimum use of social networking sites.

Australia

In February 2010, the Australian government became involved after users defaced the Facebook tribute pages of murdered children Trinity Bates and Elliott Fletcher. Facebook responded by strongly urging administrators to be aware of ways to ban users and remove inappropriate content from Facebook pages. In 2012, the Daily Telegraph started a campaign to take action against "Twitter trolls", who abuse and threaten users. It can be imagine how bad online abuse is in Australia.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, contributions made to the Internet are covered by the Communications Act 2003 .Sending messages which are "grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character" is an offense whether they are received by the intended recipient or not. Several people have been imprisoned in the UK for trolling. These facts show that this phenomenon is still very serious in the United Kingdom; the country needs to pass legislation to restrict such behavior. Except for the means of legislative which is tough, publicity like "Don't Feed The Trolls" is also essential.  

United States

On March 31, 2010, the Today Show ran a segment detailing the deaths of three separate adolescent girls and trolls' subsequent reactions to their deaths. Shortly after the suicide of high school student Alexis Pilkington, anonymous posters began performing organized psychological harassment across various message boards, referring to Pilkington as a "suicidal slut", and posting graphic images on her Facebook memorial page. In 2012, the subject of trolling was featured on the HBO series The Newsroom. Unlike China, the United States is a typical free country, freedom of speech has made the United States become one of the most severely countries in "trolling".

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Online Abuse in America

Online abuse is not just a problem in the UK but it has also proved an issue across the pond in America. It has proved difficult to decide how online abusers should be dealt with in the US. The First Amendment of the US Constitution protects free speech and makes it difficult to punish people who post offensive messages.

 In 2006 a 13 year old girl from Missouri, committed suicide after being bullied online. Megan Meier lived in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri hanged herself three weeks before her fourteenth birthday. Three years later her parents carried out an investigation into her death and linked her suicide to cyber bullying through the social networking site MySpace. Meier was a very unstable teenager and had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder and depression, she also had self esteem issues regarding her weight.

A 16 year old male named 'Josh Evans' was registered on the MySpace account that was used for sending cruel messages to Megan. But a woman called Lori Drew, a mother of one of Megan's friends later admitted to setting up the account. At the time of the suicide Drew and Meier lived only four doors apart.

Lori and several others ran the hoaxed account, aiming to betray Megan's trust. Witnesses later testified that the women intended to use Meier's messages sent to 'Josh' to gain information about her and later humiliate her, as revenge for Megan allegedly spreading gossip about Drew's daughter.

'Josh' and Megan were chatting online for a long period of time and Megan admitted to finding 'Josh' attractive. Megan's family stated that during this time, her spirits had been lifted and she seemed much happier.

On Monday, October 16, 2006 the tone of the messages from 'Josh' changed, he stated in a message sent to Megan:

'I don't know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I've heard you are not very nice to your friends' 

More messages like this were sent and Megan's messages were shared online and bulletins were posted about her. According to her father and a neighbor who had discussed the hoax with Drew, the last message sent by 'Josh' read:

'Everybody in O'Fallon (the school) knows who you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you'  

Meier responded saying:

'You're the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over' 

The last few exchanges between the two were made via AOL Instant Messenger instead of MySpace. Meier was found 20 minutes later in her bedroom closet, she had hanged herself with a belt. Despite attempts to revive her, Megan Taylor Meier was pronounced dead the next day on October 17th 2006.

What are your thoughts on this story? Do you think Megan over reacted or do you think? What do you think should be done to stop free speech on the internet causing deaths like this?
Please comment below to let us know your thoughts.

Stella Creasy and Other Public Personalities

Stella Creasy
- Following the successful campaign to have Jane Austen on the £10 bank note she received a backlash on twitter.
- The troll sent Creasy "I'm gonna be the first thing u see when u wake up". Plus an image of him wearing a mask and holding a knife.
- She wrote in an article "Twitter tell me we should simply block those who "offend us", as though a rape threat is a matter of bad manners, not criminal behaviour".
Mary Beard
- received messages stating that a troll had put a bomb outside her house that is going to "destroy everything".
- reported threats of "rape and worse".
These threats, although they have been emotionally harmful have not physically hurt these victims. This raises of the question of when it is too far and when does it become beyond a joke?
Caroline Flack
- fan of One Direction sent a picture of her holding a knife.
Gary Lineker
- Mark Sinnott (21) cyber bullied his son for having leukemia.
Gary Barlow - received abuse about his daughter who was delivered a stillborn.
Colin Cass - jailed for 18 weeks for making Facebook groups mocking Jade Goody and other dead celebrities.
Should trolls be charged with harassment?
Does this affect the free speech that we have on the internet?
They have given up their privacy to be famous so should they expect to be threatened online?
Is this the price they should pay for boosting their profile and becoming more accessible?
Communications Act of 2003 governs the internet, email, mobile phone calls and text messaging. Under section 127 of the act it is an offence to send messages that are grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

Online anonymity

What is it?
Online anonymity is when you are able to sit the comfort of your own home browse the internet looking at whatever sites you wish without judgment or with anyone knowing. No one really knows the extent to what you search online, what videos you watch, emails you send and messages you post.

How does it affect people?
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/10/online-anonymity-not-only-trolls-and-political-dissidents

Reading this article it shows how online anonymity is the norm online to those who wish to keep their identity protected from posts that may be controversial but at what cost? Those who are being harassed online are in a online society where they are being verbally abused without any idea of their attacker. I firmly agree that all social interacting sites shouldn't allow people to remain anonymous, they should take responsibility of their actions online just as they should in day to day life.

 ''In this view of the Internet, everyone else's anonymity is worth sacrificing to silence the trolls.''

Online anonymity can bring out the worst in people as they feel as if they are protected behind their computer screens so they are able to say whatever they like no matter how hurtful it may be to others, for example celebrity tweeting such as the Lady Gaga and Perez Hilton case (link below).http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/22/are-celebrities-responsible-for-their-fans-behaviour-online-3933446/

Although I do not agree fully with this article that the actions of these celebrities influence their fans to 'troll' but I agree with it to an extent for example the controversy that Miley Cyrus actions has taken the world by surprise it would be difficult to resist posting comments on this.

However anonymity is important to:

• the people who run some of the funniest parody Twitter accounts, such as @FeministHulk (SMASH THE PATRIARCHY!) or @BPGlobalPr during the Deepwater Horizon aftermath. San Francisco would not be better off if we knew who was behind @KarltheFog, the most charming personification of a major city's climate phenomenon.
• the young LGBTQ youth seeking advice online about coming out to their parents.
• the medical patient seeking advice from other patients in coping with a chronic disease, whether it's alopecia, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer or a sexually transmitted infection.
• the online dater, who wants to meet new people but only reveal her identities after she's determined that potential dates are not creeps.
• the business that wants no-pulled-punches feedback from its customers.
• the World of Warcraft player, or any other MMOG gamer, who only wants to engage with other players in character.
• artists. Anonymity is integral to the work of The Yes Men, Banksy and Keizer.
• the boyfriend who doesn’t want his girlfriend to know he’s posing questions on a forum about how to pick out a wedding ring and propose. On the other end: Anonymity is important to anyone seeking advice about divorce attorneys online.
• the youth from an orthodox religion who secretly posts reviews on hip hop albums or R-rated movies.
• the young, pregnant woman who is seeking out advice on reproductive health services.
• the person seeking mental health support from an online community. There's a reason that support groups so often end their names with “Anonymous.”
• the job seeker, in pursuit of cover letter and resume advice in a business blogger's comments, who doesn't want his current employer to know he is looking for work.
• Political Gabfest listeners. Each week, the hosts encourage listeners to post comments. Of the 262 largely positive customer reviews on iTunes, only a handful see value in using their real names.

      Mass,D.(2013)

ASK.FM

-Hannah Smith who was aged 14 at the time committed suicide after receiving messages on Ask.fm telling her to "die" and "go and get cancer". Owners claim that Hannah Smith "trolled herself".
- Ask.fm has always been known as a controversial site as it allows anyone to post comments anonymously.
Also anyone can see photographs and personal details of people as young at 13. This is why it is known as a "stalkers paradise".
- It has been linked to 4 teenage deaths in the last year which has lead to many people campaigning to have the site shut down.
- It has as many as 60 million users however many of the comments and questions of Ask.fm are insults, sexual advances or threats of violence.
- They are not as heavy on cyber bullying as Twitter and Facebook.

How it should change?
- Schools and parents should educate children into the outcome of online trolls and the reality of online harassment.
- Online communities need to call out on unacceptable behaviour more frequently and be stronger on the punishment of cyber bullying on Ask.fm.

Is Ask.fm at fault or the trolls? Who should be punished? Post your comments here

Social Media Users

Social media users

Reasons why people use social media...

• Social interaction – social media, not surprisingly, allows people to be social. They meet new people and keep in touch with friends, acquaintances and family.
• Information seeking – this refers to the process of finding information about products/services, keeping up to date with real-world social events, and learning new things.
• Passing time – social media is a great time killer and can cure boredom whether at home, at school, or in the work place.
• Entertainment – games, music and videos are all accessed through social media. Watching the stream of updates from people is also a form of entertainment – whether intentionally humorous or not.
• Relaxation – whilst people find others updates humorous, they also find them relaxing. Social media is a way to alleviate stress and escape from reality.
• Expression of opinions – expressing thoughts and opinions, criticizing others and blowing off steam (either anonymously or named) is regularly undertaken through social media.
• Things to talk about – like the daily newspaper, social media provide subject matter for people to talk and gossip about with others.
• Convenience – social media is readily accessible, even more so as mobile devices become ubiquitous. Furthermore, people can talk to several people at the same time.
• Sharing information – people can use social media to broadcast things about themselves. By publishing updates, videos and pictures, people market their own personal brand or business.
• Knowing about others – social media allows a window into the lives of others. By checking out other profiles, they can be nosey or ‘keep up with the Jones’’ Connor, O. (2013)

But why should people who use social media automatically become a subject of online harassment and abuse just because they want to socially interact. 

What will it take for it to stop?
It only becomes a known issue when something horrid has happened for instance when Hannah Smith committed suicide it reminded the media of the monstrosity of online abuse and the seriousness of it. So how many more people does it need to affect before someone realizes that something needs to be done, how many more lives need to be taken before it all stops?But who will be the one to stop the craze of online abuse? The social networkers, the police, the government or the public?

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jul/29/police-chief-social-media-abuse

In this article it explains how the chief of police struggle to examine all allegations made on social media sites so think that it is up to the site companies themselves to filter their sites enough to know when serious cases of online abuse is taking place. The police believe that the sites should take responsibilities of what the outcomes can be and face the fact that some users are only using their sites to troll.