Trolls are mystical creatures that pollute the internet realm setting traps to latch onto unsuspecting "passer-byers". They release trial balloons of racist, misogynistic, xenophobic and other offensive comments just to create discourse for their own viewing pleasure. Trolls feed off the little glimmers of attention they receive.
The most common and capitalized form of an "internet troll" is the Catfish. Catfishes often end up going faceless or even nameless due to the anonymity of the internet which is very dangerous.
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| definition via Urban Dictionary (a super reliable source) |
The ability to conceal your identity or even falsify your information is a very strong power to have. The premise of the popular docu-series on MTV "Catfish" is to unveil these fake personas that people are creating and I believe that when the media makes these situations into entertainment it's just furthering the problem.
What do you think? Should shows like "Catfish" even exist? Is it worsening the problem of "internet trolls" and "catfishes"?
Here's just a random episode of "Catfish" if you've never seen it!
Sorry for such a late post I've been sucked into the musical.
Shameless plug come out to see Mary Poppins when it shows in January!
Hey Jasmine, I like how you turned a possibly miserable situation into a mysticle adventure. I actually enjoyed reading this! I think that the show catfish should be a show because it teaches people not to act as someone else. When you "catfish" someone you hurt yourself and the person involved so this show just casts a light on a growing epidemic.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, but I think it still leaves it open to people who want the limelight. So they create fake accounts in the hopes of getting on the show.
DeleteThe internet is a platform unlike any other and it does give us the ability to conceal our identities which could be a good thing but also can cause pain, it's often present in the case of trolling. This is dangerous because it could lead to stalking and cyber bullying. I'm not really sure what I think of it anymore. This has very much changed my perspective.
ReplyDelete