This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture
- ISBN-10
- 026232900X
- ISBN-13
- 9780262329002
- Category
- Computers
- Pages
- 256
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2015-03-20
- Publisher
- MIT Press
- Author
- Whitney Phillips
Description
Why the troll problem is actually a culture problem: how online trolling fits comfortably within today's media landscape. Internet trolls live to upset as many people as possible, using all the technical and psychological tools at their disposal. They gleefully whip the media into a frenzy over a fake teen drug crisis; they post offensive messages on Facebook memorial pages, traumatizing grief-stricken friends and family; they use unabashedly racist language and images. They take pleasure in ruining a complete stranger's day and find amusement in their victim's anguish. In short, trolling is the obstacle to a kinder, gentler Internet. To quote a famous Internet meme, trolling is why we can't have nice things online. Or at least that's what we have been led to believe. In this provocative book, Whitney Phillips argues that trolling, widely condemned as obscene and deviant, actually fits comfortably within the contemporary media landscape. Trolling may be obscene, but, Phillips argues, it isn't all that deviant. Trolls' actions are born of and fueled by culturally sanctioned impulses—which are just as damaging as the trolls' most disruptive behaviors. Phillips describes, for example, the relationship between trolling and sensationalist corporate media—pointing out that for trolls, exploitation is a leisure activity; for media, it's a business strategy. She shows how trolls, “the grimacing poster children for a socially networked world,” align with social media. And she documents how trolls, in addition to parroting media tropes, also offer a grotesque pantomime of dominant cultural tropes, including gendered notions of dominance and success and an ideology of entitlement. We don't just have a trolling problem, Phillips argues; we have a culture problem. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things isn't only about trolls; it's about a culture in which trolls thrive.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2015-07-06
- 214 pages
- Paperback
- Lulu.com
Similar books
-
Family History Digital Libraries
By William Sims BainbridgeOne named Sara and Timberlake had 11 male workers, 1 female worker, and 4 children workers, so it might have employed the Minor family.
-
Foundation Dreamweaver MX
By Craig Grannell, Jerome Turner, Matt StephensSo here's what we need to do to arrive at our layout: s Create the main table to hold all the page elements. s Deal with the navigation area which is ...
-
Cisco CCNA Certification, 2 Volume Set: Exam 200-301
By Todd LammleThis inclusive, two-book set provides what you need to know to succeed on the new CCNA exam. The set includes Understanding Cisco Networking Technologies: Volume 1 and the CCNA Certification Study Guide: Volume 2.
-
CompTIA Network+ Study Guide: Exam N10-006
By Todd Lammle... you can use: –a –A –c –n –r –R –S –s All nbtstat switches are case sensitive. Generally speaking, lowercase switches deal with NetBIOS names of hosts, ...
-
CompTIA Network+ Study Guide with Online Labs: N10-007 Exam
By Todd Lammle, Jon Buhagiar... you can use: –a –A –c –n –r –R –S –s All nbtstat switches are case sensitive. Generally speaking, lowercase switches deal with NetBIOS names of hosts, ...
-
CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate FastPass
By Todd LammleS The S reference point defines the point between the customer router and an ... with the letter E deal with using ISDN on the existing telephone network.
-
Stranger in the Chat Room
By Todd Hafer, Jedd HaferA sequel to In the Chat Room With God finds a group of teens contacted by a mysterious and increasingly malevolent character who claims to know about their encounters with the Almighty and challenges their beliefs. Original.
-
Error Correction Coding: Mathematical Methods and Algorithms
By Todd K. MoonM M−1∑ k=0 −∞ ∞ k=0 The average energy per signal E s ∫ can be related to the ... we will deal primarily with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN), ...
-
Security+ Training Guide
By Todd King... to deal with most , but unfortunately not all , of these potential threats . ... The S / MIME standard implements encryption for message content using ...
-
CCDA: Cisco Certified Design Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-861
By Todd Lammle, Andy BarklS reference point The S reference point defines the reference point between ... with the letter E deal with using ISDN on the existing telephone network.