The Trolls Are Amongst Us

The internet is abuzz with commentaries about the upcoming elections. There are heated exchanges amongst netizens who speak without restraint about their feelings on a wide variety of subjects. Sadly, it is also the time when the most vulgarities and expletives are used.

Reading the commentaries brings me back to my first day in national service. I had a culture shock when the sergeants and corporals were verbally abusing every recruit with that infamous four letter word and a myriad of Hokkien expletives. I guess one of the best things that the army has done for me is to numb me to the impact of such vocabulary. But for those who have not gotten use to it, try and see it this way. When people run out of words to say or use to express their anger and frustration, they jump straight into their pool of swirling unpalatable adjectives and nouns. Learn to read the feelings and not the words. They are just human.

But there is a group of netizens who do give rise to some concern. They enjoy name-calling, inflaming matters and inciting negative emotions to derive a certain psychological thrill. They deliberately choose to use mocking, insulting and incendiary language to work up a storm in the forum and to provoke a response. The term "trolls" is used to describe them.

How do you identify trolls? Well, they do not use their real names and would work behind an air of mystery. Sometimes, they would use monickers which are derogatory names of the people they are targeting. Their tactics are easy to detect. They use strong abusive language to throw a rational discussion off-course by refusing to accept any logical reasoning and then make personal attacks without checking out their facts.

We need to be aware of who are the trolls and avoid becoming their prey. They are out to thrill themselves at the expense of a serious public discourse on matters that deserve to be treated rationally, reasonably and responsibly. If you identify a troll, all you need to do is to ignore them. Don't give them the thrill that they are looking for.