The helplessness of being trolled online

The world of Internet can be really scary at times. Photo: Shutterstock/IndiaPicture

I recently wrote an article on Raksha Bandhan and expressed my personal views on how this festival is a product of patriarchy. Although I knew that writing an article on such a delicate topic--after all it is an Indian festival--I still gave it a shot. Why you ask? Well, because I'm a journalist and even as an individual I've a right to an opinion of my own. And like I said, the article had my, own personal views. But trolls will be trolls. 

To be honest, I was actually prepared to accept everything people would say in reply to the article. However, turns out I wasn't ready for what actually happened.

It All Started With Some Mild Criticism On Twitter

I have always been quite active on social media, even before I started my career as a journalist. So be it Twitter or Facebook, I'm mostly always active. So when I first got a notification on Twitter, I wasn't really perturbed by it. After all, everyone has a different opinion and right to freedom of speech. Some of the reactions that I had received on my handle advised me to go to a mental hospital. Yep, that actually happened.

Photo Courtesy: Twitter

But, things went south when a troll posted a screenshot of my article, which had my face in the byline, on Twitter.

Photo Courtesy: Twitter

My first reaction was to make my Twitter account private, because I didn't know what else trolls were capable of.

I Thought Reactions On Twitter Was The End Of Story--But It Was Just The Beginning

I thought things had died down after I stopped receiving comments on Twitter, but boy was I wrong. One fine morning, after over a week the article was published, an old friend of mine messaged me on Facebook and asked me to check a page called The Frustrated Indian. And I did and it was scary.

There on their wall was that same screenshot some troll had shared with me on Twitter. It had my full name and my face and it scared the sh*t out of me. But the main mess started when people personally targeting me. There were comments that were sexually threatening in nature but they were promptly removed when I reported them.

Photo Courtesy: Facebook/TheFrustratedIndian

The comments started flowing like moths to a flame. Starting from abusing me for being a Bengali to death threats, trolls left no stone unturned to insult me.

Photo Courtesy: Facebook/TheFrustratedIndian

A troll even urged the page admins to get hold of nuclear bombs to nuke me.

Photo Courtesy: Facebook/TheFrustratedIndian

While, some trolls chose the path of maligning my character. They didn't even spare the way I look, and said that I look like I'm from "UrAnus". So original, right?

Photo Courtesy: Facebook/TheFrustratedIndian

And Then A Troll Found My Profile On Facebook

However, what scared me the most was when one person decided to find me on Facebook and send me a message. And it really shook me up. 

Photo Courtesy: Facebook

Just to be clear: I have nothing against Hindus or our culture. I just refuse to celebrate a festival that glorifies brothers, while depicting sisters as weaklings. Notice the word 'I' here. Something that this gentleman and other trolls just don't realize.  

While I was trying to maintain my calm and not to cry, I realized one thing the Internet isn't safe, especially if you are an opinionated woman. But it also made me wonder why some people become trolls and behave the way they do. So I decided to dig deeper in to the psychology of trolls and found some interesting facts.

Who Are These Trolls?

According to a study conducted by Stanford and Cornell Universities, anonymous people who post cruel, unpleasant and unnecessary comments could be any of us. That's right. All of us have the potential to become a troll. The study concluded that the reason someone trolls is based on two factors: the person's mood and the tone of other comments.

What Makes A Troll Troll Someone Online?

Now that I knew that all of us can turn out to be trolls in one situation or the other, I wanted to know what actually makes someone troll others online. In an interview to Psychology Today, Dr Jesse Fox has pointed out some important reasons why some people feel comfortable posting the most offensive comments.

The first and the most important factor that makes troll is anonymity. The Internet provides everyone with a shield of anonymity. No matter what name your profile has, even it's your real name, deep down you know that you can actually get away with anything. And sometimes, they do.

The second reason is the perceived majority status. You see, it's easier for trolls to bully people because they know they will find like-minded people supporting their comments. You see, when people think they are in the majority in a certain setting, they are more likely to express their opinion freely than those who see themselves as in the minority. So, even if some individuals may not be personally racist or sexist, they may feel it's okay to do so in a particular online setting because they think their opinion is the prevalent one there.

The last reason is the lack of consequences, one of the important reasons. When you are on a Facebook page and you see that everyone else is commenting in a certain way, you realize that it's easier to get away with your actions. After all, who's going go through hundreds of comments of similar nature to find and prosecute you? No one. And thus the troll feels that as everyone is on their side and they even have the benefit of being anonymous, there won't be any consequences.

But It Makes Me Wonder About My Personal Well-being

Yes, I was affected by what transpired online and it made lock and secure my online profiles, I couldn't help but worry about my well-being. It made me wonder that even though all of this was happening online, but what would happen if I were ever to come across these trolls in real life. I wondered if I were to express my opinions in real life that I did in written, I would meet the same fate that the trolls were promising in the comments.

Also Read: 7 types of trolls every woman has encountered on the Internet at least once