By Dr John Synnott
A DECADE has passed since the disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann on holiday in Portugal, but activity online regarding the case is constant, with some of this commentary being directed in the form of abuse, a behaviour commonly referred to as ‘trolling’. It is estimated that every hour there are more than 100 tweets posted using the McCann hashtag.
Now, University of Huddersfield psychology researchers have entered the world of internet trolls and their abusive, aggressive language, directed towards those who disagree with them. Described in a new journal article, the project has led to a call for measures – including an end to pseudonyms on Twitter – that would curb the anonymity that enables cyber-trolling.
The work is featured in an online editorial headed “the dark side of social media” for the prestigious journal, Nature, and the research reinforces newly-revealed UK Government plans to curb cyber abuse.
The University of Huddersfield’s Dr John Synnott – who co-authored the new article in –
commented that: “It is encouraging to see that ministers have called the major social media platforms to Whitehall to demand that they do more to protect people online from cyber bullying and trolling or face sanctions. This is a step in the right direction by making these platforms responsible for negative behaviour that they unfortunately enable.”
Computers in Human Behaviour
“There is absolutely a need for such precautions,” continued Dr Synnott. “Trolls are hiding behind the facility to be anonymous, which Twitter enables to a certain degree. Our research can contribute to an understanding and a reduction in trolling behaviour and one of the main interpretations is that the level of anonymity provided by certain social networking sites is a massive enabler.”
A key discovery of the research conducted by Dr Synnott, his Huddersfield colleague Dr Maria Ioannou and postgraduate student Andria Coulias, is that far from operating in isolation – as has usually been argued – trolls form “anti-social networks” that reinforce their behaviour. Also, media reports that condemn the trolls’ actions have the effect of “showering them with the very attention they appear to covet”.
http://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2017/february/exploringtheworldofthemadeleinemccanntrolls.php
-----------------
Gerry McCann called for an example to be made of 'trolls', and this was the result:
The late Brenda Leyland with her son Ben
http://whatreallyhappenedtomadeleinemccann.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/the-mccann-family-and-dossier-of-death.html
Will Dr John Synott be writing a follow-up article?