Trolling the Stars
A digital ethnographic study on why people troll
Trolling — is the deliberate act, (by a Troll), of making random unsolicited and/or controversial comments on internet forums with the intent to provoke a reaction from unsuspecting readers to engage in a fight or argument
The internet doesn’t hurt people. It never did. People hurt people. The new digital age we live in has witnessed the beginning of several culture and generation-defining trends. Chief among those is Social Media — platforms and technologies that have brought the world several magnitudes (virtually) closer and accelerated the speed and manner in which we spread information. Unfortunately, these feats of technology have been piggybacked by users and communities who intend to use these platforms for purposes that are negative or at the least controversial in nature.
On such type of user is known as a Troll — a person who seeks to create discord and arguments by posting inflammatory or simple off-topic content.
To the general public, trolls are considered annoying and disgusting, with good reason too. But to digital ethnographers like myself and fellow researcher Ranveer Katyal — that sentiment is shared by intrigue. “Why would someone with the potential of the world’s information at their fingertips, choose to spend their time degrading and annoying other users on the…
