Pakistani social media has become a cesspool of the worst in our society. Intolerance thrives, bigotry is celebrated, and hatred is spread openly. There is no one to control this toxic culture, which has been encouraged and perpetuated by big names and political parties to further their agenda. In the process, we have lost a generation - or rather this generation has lost itself in a dangerous digital world.
The internet troll is a fascinating case study from a sociological perspective. What makes a seemingly normal person log onto the internet and lose their moral compass? The answer may be that the ability to feel guilt is subdued in a digital environment, where the victim’s reaction cannot be physically seen by the perpetrator. In Pakistan, the troll is mostly political in nature, guided by a dogma, an unquestioning belief and conviction in his party ideology. To doubt it would be sacrilege, and everyone else is wrong and worthy of insult.
Sociology is the study of how humans are shaped by forces they cannot see. Sociologist Sam Richards suggests that the best way of understanding these invisible forces is through empathy - putting yourself in another person’s shoes and looking at the world from their perspective. In the shadowy world of the internet troll, there is a glaring lack of empathy. These nameless individuals have completely disregarded this idea and are therefore incapable of understanding a differing opinion. They set aside the ability that makes us human: our innate capacity to understand and share the emotions of others.
The author of this book has revealed direct links between BJP and social media trolls
Trolls tend to share many defining characteristics: hyper-nationalism, undying devotion to a great political leader and his struggle, stubborn refusal to accept any other viewpoint, and the ability to launch expletives at will. The troll will likely be anonymous on Twitter, rarely using his own picture, preferring the party flag or a picture of the great leader. He will be well-versed in jingoism and religious bigotry, because both of these sell well and are largely accepted in Pakistan. Prejudice and bias is justified through partisanship, because the trolls come in packs. Their narrow-mindedness is a symptom of a larger disease; a plague that has created a generation of online radicals.
The internet is an escape for many, a place to pour our thoughts without fear of judgment. But the flipside to this is that it gives thousands of faceless people the chance to share their darkest, unfiltered thoughts. We feel empathy for people through their mannerisms - how they speak, the tone of their voice, their expressions and gestures. When you disagree with someone, or have a stubborn resistance to differing views, insulting that person to their face is difficult because you are aware that this is another person who feels the same emotions as you. This element of humanity is lost to social media trolls who cannot see their victims, and lose the ability to empathise. An awareness of the impact of their words is thus lost and these individuals turn into vile hate-spewing aggressors on the internet. The result of the internet’s cloak of anonymity is an army of faceless people who may be normal, caring human beings in real life, but have lost sight of this in the digital world.
The impact of the troll phenomenon is far-reaching. It has similar repercussions to online bullying, and trolls often act as cyber-bullies. They harass, abuse and threaten those they disagree with, victimising journalists, politicians and other public figures. Targets of this harassment have been forced to quit social media, faced considerable mental distress, and have even been blackmailed.
More recently trolls have begun playing a role in spreading propaganda for political parties. These parties have found trolls to be a great way of pushing their agenda. They encourage the youth to criticise for the sake of criticism and to forget boundaries of decency. These parties don’t care about opposing views, their ultimate goal is to create a loyal support base which will spread their message. Simple, provocative rhetoric can be a very powerful tool.
The absolutist mind-set is where the trouble begins: the seeds of hatred are sown into the minds of unsuspecting followers, and their empathy begins to diminish. Although this is denied publicly by the parties, there is a lot more going on behind the scenes. Hate campaigns are launched and defamatory trends are started, all in the guise of social media activism. No one quite seems to know where funding for these campaigns is coming from.
Professional trolls?
Trolling is not just restricted to the internet, it has seeped into mainstream media where concerns over ethical practices is thrown out the window in search of ratings. The adoption of social media tactics by mainstream media has likely encouraged this phenomenon. What better way to reach thousands of new viewers than populist rhetoric coupled with sensationalism in a medium where it spreads like wildfire? In essence, we have television personalities acting as trolls pushing their views towards an audience that is slowly but surely shaped by those views in much the same way incendiary political propaganda creates trolls.
The 2017 book I Am a Troll: Inside the Secret World of the BJP’s Digital Army details how India’s ruling party has financially backed, encouraged, and directly associated with individuals who harass, abuse, and threaten opposition politicians and journalists. The writer presents evidence that the trolls have close ties with the party which uses them to attack their dissenters. Top politicians and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been seen associating with these trolls. It would not be a stretch to say something similar has happened in Pakistan because our social media spheres are filled with the same political propaganda, the same hatred, and the same abuse mentioned in the book. Those who introduced this culture have also risen to power.
The trolls themselves are largely unaware of their negative actions. In fact, in their minds they are on a holy crusade. And their victims? You may try to be understanding and forthcoming, but the toxic online troll culture means that this is a futile exercise. Trolls don’t care about listening to your views, their sole purpose is to antagonise and elicit an emotional response.
The politicisation of social media has started to take away its charm. How do you defeat this menace and encourage people to embrace empathy instead of conflict? The truth is that as long as there is an internet, there will be a community of vile, anonymous antagonists who thrive on sucking out the positivity from everything. What we need is to educate people about the consequences of their words in the digital age.
We need to encourage the young generation to take ownership of their views and think before posting their darkest thoughts for the world to see. The lines between the real world and the digital world are blurring, and we need this generation to embrace the internet as they do real life. We need decency and kindness in the online world.
It is time to be empathetic in the digital age. It is time to take back the internet from the trolls.
