Outsmarting The Techno Trolls

No Trolls under this bridge but always important to keep a lookout.

Outsmarting the Techno Trolls

If you’ve got several decades under your belt like I have, maybe you remember the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. It was written way back in 1840 by Norwegian authors Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. This story looms large in my mind because as a child it was a favourite even though it terrified me. I just loved the way in which the billy goats faced a significant threat and collaboratively overcame it. On the downside, I was alarmed at the prospect of a troll potentially lurking under our local bridge therefore I was always on high alert whenever I crossed it. Thinking back now, this was my negativity bias at work. Something threatening and unexpected takes up considerable emotional energy, whether you are a small child or a seasoned adult. 
 
If you’re not familiar with the story, then imagine a group of good minded, open hearted citizens (a family of billy goats), going about their business (finding grass to eat). Suddenly, in the murky depths underneath a bridge they needed to cross, there appears a dim witted, nefarious troll. Seriously motivated by greed, the troll springs into action as each goat attempts to cross, in size order. Through collaborative cunning, the promise of a bigger and tastier goat still to come secures their freedom. As a child, the take home message was clear: dim witted bullies need to be swiftly dealt with and outsmarting them is key.  
 
Reading this week that Elon Musk, sole owner of Twitter, describes his platform as ‘Troll Heaven’, brought the childhood story back into sharp focus for me. Somehow, we are all hapless billy goats now. Our chances of getting across the bridge without encountering troll-like behaviour are extremely slim.  Trolls block the way and belittle anyone who is trying to move forward in a purposeful way. Trolls hate the light and thanks to the internet, they now have such a great hiding spot, all hanging out together in the darkest corners of the web. Trolls are tribal and like all of us, their need to belong is real. They’re hungry and whilst it was once billy goats and hobbits, now they’re after likes, shares, follows and reposts. 
 
It doesn’t help that negative posts and comments are much stickier than posts filled with goodness and light.  Posts filled with bile spread way more quickly and engagement numbers rapidly increase with every repost. This ‘sticky neediness’ is Elon’s (and all social media software engineers’) dream. One of the ways in which AI generated echo chambers work is that anything negative is amplified, elevating the minority voice every time. It may seem like there is so much hate in the world right now but this elevation factor is deliberately engineered and very real.  The business model of all social media platforms is very, very simple. They need our eyeballs and our data. When we go on and stay on, the data is harvested and the cash registers hum. It’s practically troll like, you might be thinking. Because of this, we need to be much more emotionally smart about how we engage online.
 
So how do we boot the trolls off the bridge? Well, unless you're a tough old billy goat, it’s just about impossible.  When we take even a small step towards confronting them online, it always ends badly. Different tactics are needed for internet trolls and until Government funded regulatory bodies are created to moderate online behaviour (if this ever happens), there are a few things we can do to at least keep our nervous systems in homeostasis. 
 
First and foremost, offensive and abusive behaviour online is extremely bad for us. Our health and wellbeing are at stake when we stay in places where others are deliberately upsetting us and pushing to elicit an angry response. As adrenaline and cortisol surge through our bodies, detrimental physiological outcomes result over time. Occasional surges are okay but if we are finding ourselves feeling overwhelmed and stressed frequently, then damage is done at a cellular level. Asking ourselves if our online engagement is helping or harming us is a wise first step. Engaging at night is especially harmful and can lead to poor sleep outcomes. 
 
Secondly, trolls are hungry.  If we feed them, it stands to reason that they’ll become much more energised. It can be tempting to feed a troll with our superior intellect but of course, that’s akin to a massive sugar hit - never a good idea. Punishment will be swift and brutal. Resisting the urge to respond is super wise. Trolls hope for a response as it gives them unbridled delight to know they’ve fired you up. Don’t give them what they are hoping for. At the moment, the rules of the game are expressly set up for the trolls to win. We can disrupt this by deciding not to play. 
 
Thirdly, get help whenever you are in such situations. The billy goats banded together and so must we. If you need to use social media for work and trolling behaviour is an issue, have another person assist you with this, whether that be HR or a person closer to you with less skin in the game. Report any defamatory behaviour to appropriate authorities and seek redress if your good reputation is being dismantled. Use the taxpayer funded esafety.gov.au website to report harm and more fully understand your rights and responsibilities online. 

Fourthly, take a break as often as you can and get outside.The trolls are of course all inside, shielding themselves from sunlight! The health and wellbeing benefits of disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with nature are enormous and well documented. If you need further convincing, this seminal piece of research should do the trick. If you can venture somewhere where phones don't work, even better. 
 
Finally, make love, not war.  Create, like and follow uplifting and positive accounts that are all about making the world a better place for us all. Heliotropia is an example of this mission and there are so many of us out there. You can follow us here. We spend our days creating uplifting content that will hopefully make the world a nicer place to be.  Whilst the AI generated algorithms are working against us, we won’t be dissuaded from spreading a kinder message. Engage with and elevate our messages and spread the love, rather than engage with the hate.  

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If my work resonates with you, please reach out. I can work with you individually or with your family, colleagues or friends.

You are not supposed to have all the answers when it comes to the tech world. I would love to help.
 

Lisa Barker
Heliotropia Wellbeing
Copyright - Heliotropia P/L