We spent the last 2 decades feeding the trolls. Making them think they mattered even if it was to be hated or ridiculed by their enemies.
YES! I have done my utmost to ignore these neanderthals my entire life because I grew up on 4chan and learned “do NOT feed the trolls” early. But apparently every news reporter and Facebook boomer since 2014 did not get the memo, and -waves at the general state of the world- here we are.
Obviously context is important. In meatspace it’s much more important to create friction and pushback. If you’re moderating a platform it’s important to, well, moderate.
But on social media, attention (good or bad) is currency. So ignoring can be a good strategy.
Notice how I’m specifically talking about news headlines, Facebook boomers, and 4chan. All digital spaces. I never said I didn’t call this shit out IRL.
These people got attention on social media first, and then decided to move it offline. There are whole articles about how Steve Bannon used online spaces to radicalize people because doing it irl was too tough before and during the first Trump presidency. Then newsmedia and every social platform found outrage generated clicks which generated ad revenue during the first Trump presidency, and we have now been living in this racist, fascist hellscape for a decade.
YES! I have done my utmost to ignore these neanderthals my entire life because I grew up on 4chan and learned “do NOT feed the trolls” early. But apparently every news reporter and Facebook boomer since 2014 did not get the memo, and -waves at the general state of the world- here we are.
The problem with ignoring them is that it then tacitly shows acceptance of these behaviors.
We’ve already seen this with how women have been treated. Now we’re making some progress by calling it out.
Additionally, if it’s their goal to get attention then they will act even worse if they don’t get the attention they want.
Obviously context is important. In meatspace it’s much more important to create friction and pushback. If you’re moderating a platform it’s important to, well, moderate.
But on social media, attention (good or bad) is currency. So ignoring can be a good strategy.
Notice how I’m specifically talking about news headlines, Facebook boomers, and 4chan. All digital spaces. I never said I didn’t call this shit out IRL.
These people got attention on social media first, and then decided to move it offline. There are whole articles about how Steve Bannon used online spaces to radicalize people because doing it irl was too tough before and during the first Trump presidency. Then newsmedia and every social platform found outrage generated clicks which generated ad revenue during the first Trump presidency, and we have now been living in this racist, fascist hellscape for a decade.