See that headline right there? That’s an example of trolling, defined by the geniuses over at YouGov as “someone who is deliberately provocative, upsetting others by starting arguments or posting inflammatory messages…” as if they know what the hell they’re talking about.
According to the study, “although only 45% of adults have heard of the term troll, 28% of Americans admitted malicious online activity directed at somebody they didn’t know,” which is a nice way of saying some of these adults need to LRN 2 SPEEK INTERNET.
Additional insights from the study:
Nearly a quarter of those who have ever posted content (23%) admit to having maliciously argued over an opinion with a stranger, while 23% have maliciously argued over facts.
…and my own personal study found that 100% of respondents at some point insisted something was a fact that wasn’t.
12% admit to making deliberately controversial statements.
…and 85% of those 12% shouldn’t even count because 85% of people are FREAKIN IDIOTS WHO SUCK AT EVERYTHING.
Men are more likely to get into a malicious argument than women
…I think you’ll find a few men in our comment section who disagree with that…
12% of posters admitted to having crossed the line so far that they have had their comment removed by a moderator.
Thankfully the PC POLICE haven’t deleted any of my posts on Red Lobster’s Facebook page. Checkmate, losers.
Maybe if everyone paid more attention and participated in Snark-Free Day today like the PR shills for Wal-Mart and TGI Fridays wanted us to, we’d all be a bit more civil to each other on the web. Maybe.
[h/t YouGov]
