If you are a Harry Potter fan, surely you recall the scene where Hermione, Ron, and Harry encounter a full-grown mountain troll in a girl’s bathroom. Ultimately, they subdue the troll—but Harry’s wand will never be the same.
Trolls
may be a welcomed addition to a fantasy novel, but facing one on social media
is intimidating. Celebrities routinely deal with everything from stalkers to
sensationalists, eager to share in a flash of Internet fame. These are not your
everyday mountain trolls.
Merriam-Webster
defines trolling as “to antagonize (others) online by deliberately posting
inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content.”
Wikipedia adds that this is done “with the intent of provoking readers into an
emotional response . . . for the troll’s amusement.”
Writers
don’t generally wear a bull’s-eye on their back, unless they’ve achieved the
status of Chuck Wendig, Stephen King, or J.K. Rowling (72.7K, 3.6 million,11.6 million
Twitter followers, respectively). Our current commander-in-chief famously
blocked Stephen King in June. Not daunted in the least, J.K. Rowling stepped up
to the plate, offering to send screenshots of all “presidential” tweets to King
via D.M.
Spot-check
Chuck Wendig’s Twitter feed, and you’ll notice fascinating interchanges on politics/culture.
Wendig uses humor to defuse those who troll his account. Occasionally, he
resorts to retweeting the most offensive posts.
This
strategy proves quite effective in many cases. When a comment is dripping with
underlying racism, sexism, or homophobia, writers will come to one another’s
rescue and
shut that s*%t down fast.
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
Those
of us with a moderate following are unlikely to experience that level of vitriol.
But if our social media reflects our interests/values,
then we’re sure to offend at some point. Even if we kept to writing books and
used social media solely as a marketing platform, inevitably, someone would be
affronted by something we’d penned.
Most
people opt to ignore trolls. Generally, disregarding an antagonistic individual
is the best first-line response. One local NCW author replies to nasty D.M.’s
with a simple, “You know where to find the unfollow button.”
There
are times a troll should be called out. Facebook has made it easy to report offensive
posts, but Twitter has strides to make. Inflammatory tweets are often
tolerated. Some argue that a certain person, who holds the highest office in
the land, should have his tweeting privileges rescinded.
It’s
best to avoid responding in the heat of anger. For excellent advice, see: How to Handle Personal Attacks on Social Media
It’s
natural to feel wounded by a brutal criticism or venomous remark. To
metaphorically slay your troll, kick-box the snuff out of a heavy bag. Go for a
walk. Take a yoga class. Binge watch Netflix with a bowl of popcorn and a
friend. Bonus points if you opt to read, as you are exercising self-care while
supporting a fellow writer.
You
may want to take a few days off from an online presence. Excessive hours spent
online are correlated with an increase in depression and, ironically, can
cultivate feelings of isolation. It’s wise to strike a balance of writing and
wellness, something Colleen Story covers brilliantly in her blogs. On Writing and Wellness
Despite
the pressure on writers to maintain a platform, social media is not for
everyone. I know some very talented people who have “opted out” for sanity’s
sake. Pay attention to what you’re feeling, and please do what you need to do
for yourself. The world needs the words that only you can write.
No
matter how you choose to handle a troll, it’s best to protect your wand. Troll
bogeys are notoriously hard to wash off.
You can reach Laura @leela_mahal
Some other resources:
You can reach Laura @leela_mahal
Some other resources:
How to Handle Trolls on YouTube: "Trolls are Feeling-Eaters"
The Psychology of Trolling: The "Online Disinhibition Effect"
1 comment:
Good advice, Laura! I'm on social media specifically to receive and give information on books and writing, find blog posts and articles of interest, catch breaking news, and to see warm, fuzzy stuff like kittens and puppies. On Facebook, I unfollow everyone who posts mean stuff. On Twitter, I just dump 'em. There are too many really nice folks on social media to waste time with name-callers and trolls.
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