The Dark Side of CMC

            Over the past few weeks we have been discussing the dark side of computer-mediated technology and how it affects a wide range of individuals. One aspect of the dark side of communication is the concept of trolling. Trolling is someone who goes onto the Internet and intentionally disrupts online communities. In my own experience, I have witnessed trolling when during my senior year of high school one of my classmates continuously made fake twitter accounts pretending to be people in my class. His trolling led to a lot of backlash and chaos because he was tweeting horrible things on these fake accounts and it looked as though my fellow classmates were saying those things. I realize that my account of witnessing trolling is mild and there have been many more serious cases of trolling throughout computer-mediated technology history. For example, I found a news article from ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/US/trolls-make-trouble-internet/story?id=20659477), which talked about a National Security White House Staff member who was fired after it was revealed that he was anonymously provoking senior administration officials, insulting politicians from both parties, and criticizing the policies he was helping to progress. Clearly trolling is taking places on all types of levels from high school nobodies to top senior officials in our government and on all accounts more should be done to prevent trolls. With how advanced our technology on the Internet has gotten it should make it easier for local and government agencies to track down harmful trollers.

            Another aspect of the dark side of communication is the concept of a hate speech. A hate speech is a speech that attacks a person or group based on ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. This speech is fairly uncommon and is motivated by differences in race, religion, and lifestyle. As a student of Penn State, I have witnessed and experienced people exhibiting a hate speech online because of the events of Ferguson. There have been protests and die-ins throughout the campus and I have seen numerous anonymous hate speeches about the black people on social media outlets and especially on the app called Yik-Yak. The disgusting comments I read are without a doubt considered a hate speech because both the anonymous and non-anonymous people are attacking the protests because of their race and difference in opinion. It begs me to ask the question of why and how people can honestly sit behind a computer and attack and criticize people for going out for a meaningful cause and try and bring about positive change. Whenever I try and think critically about a hate speech and in this case when it gets tied into Ferguson and the Eric Gardner case my brain can’t rationally understand people who give a hate speech. These are real and complex situations that society is dealing with and there are people who are actively trying to make our world and our country a better place. However, somehow there are people anonymously attacking the very same people who are finding for a legitimate and meaningful cause.