opinion@dailylobo.com
Where have all the trolls gone? Recently, the Daily Lobo took the admirable step of changing its online comment submission policy to help combat the epidemic of hateful, insulting remarks being posted anonymously on the site by internet trolls. The Lobo’s social media editor, J.R. Oppenheim, announced that a Facebook account is now required for anyone wishing to post their comments online.
The Daily Lobo should be commended for taking this controversial stance in the battle against cyberbullying, which has become a major problem among Millennials. Oppenheim wrote: “With this move to Facebook, we hope that people will be more careful with what they post on our website because their own name and photograph will appear with their comment. We hope the Facebook commenting system removes at least some of the anonymity from the equation.”
The new policy seems to have really done the trick. The number of online comments has plummeted, and although some might decry the lack of commentary as being detrimental to free speech, it’s clear that before the switch to Facebook the vast majority of online commenters simply used the site as a personal forum to anonymously spew hate and derision upon their fellow students. The worst offenders made no attempt to become part of the conversation or offer any sort of counter-arguments to the issues being discussed: They simply wanted to demean and abuse people they didn’t agree with.
The cowards who were so free with their insults in the past have been forced to shut the hell up or risk exposure to the greater UNM community for what they are: worthless trolls. As Oppenheim pointed out, once somebody posts a comment via Facebook, their friends and family will be able to view it. I’m not surprised that none of the “regulars” who used to post anonymous comments on virtually every item featured in the Daily Lobo are too ashamed now to come forward and express their views openly under their real names.
During my time as a columnist for the Lobo, I’ve witnessed some of the most disgraceful examples of hate-speech imaginable. A lot of it was directed toward me personally, and most of the comments had absolutely nothing to do with what I actually wrote.
One exceptionally prolific troll known as “Chayal Boded” was among the worst I’ve had to put up with. Here is an actual comment from the website: “Herr douchenberg never fails to fail and never disappoints to meet expectations and serves as a prime example of what is wrong with the current generation of white folk’s obsessive infatuation with socio/progo/whatever-o failed political ideologies. My only question is what to do with ‘em after the hard reset.”
While I find the moniker ‘Herr douchenberg’ to be hilariously juvenile, it’s difficult to establish how such an incoherent tirade contributed in any way to the conversation at hand. I could cite plenty more examples, but hopefully you get the point.
In his column, Oppenheim discussed a painful experience he had while working at another publication. In response to a photograph he took of a protester wearing an anti-Obama T-shirt, he was accused of being a racist online and told he should commit suicide.
This event had a profound effect on him at a critical stage in his life. Understandably, he was quite shaken by it.
Cyberbullying is a serious social problem, and it appears to be growing. Suicides caused by cyberbullying are too numerous to mention in this piece. New, increasingly tragic cases seem to crop up on a weekly basis.
Millenials are virtually inseparable from their smartphones, laptops and social networks. When young people engage the world of social media, it’s imperative that they understand how to be respectful digital citizens.
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Parents and teachers need to do a better job of educating people about the risks involved with participating in social media.
According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, young people are less likely to bully others or send embarrassing sexts to their peers when their adult role models discuss the limits of acceptable online conduct with them.
Unfortunately, too many parents in this day and age lack any sort of morals or scruples themselves, so they are utterly incapable of transmitting these values to their children. In the case of teenager Megan Meier, who hanged herself in her closet after months of online abuse, the cyberbully turned out to be the mother of Megan’s former best friend.
We need to reduce trolling and the widespread abuse of online anonymity by Internet users of all ages. Hopefully we’ll be able to accomplish this goal as social norms become more established in the digital environment. Kudos to the Daily Lobo for taking a stand.
