How Tolkien, HG Wells, And Plato Explained Trolling Long Before The Internet
A ring, invisibility, and why anonymity makes social media ugly
Social media isn’t fun anymore. It’s dark. I have the fortune of remembering the innocent beginnings when Tom at Myspace was everyone’s friend. Long before what we now know as normal.
And I’m not alone in thinking this way.
A Pew research poll on social media says sixty-four percent of Americans think it has a negative effect on the country. In fact, this is one of the few things Republicans, Democrats, and Independents agree on, with a majority of each seeing it as damaging.
Psychologist and author Dr. Jonathan Haidt explains the internet began as a wonderful tool to spread knowledge and people’s voices. Social media promised to improve this ability to speak. He says it offered a dream where everyone could be part of the conversation. However, that wasn’t the case.
Just like the social situation at a bar, not everyone participates, and the loudest voices can crowd out the others.
In this case, the extremes are more likely to speak— often negatively. Haidt says, “When everyone gets a dart gun, most don’t want to shoot anybody.” But this doesn’t bother trolls or people on the fringe…
