Gnomes, hobbits and trolls of social media

The first time I encountered the word lsquotrollrsquo was in high school That year we had to read JRR Tolkienrsquos fantasy novel The Hobbit as part of our course for English literature It was in the pages of that fascinating book that we discovered amazing creatures including hobbits and trolls inhabiting an imaginary virtual worldTrolls we were told by way of introduction to these supernatural beings traced their origin to Norse mythology They were not particularly handsome in their appearance lived in mountain caves and had their own social code Human beings steered clear of them as they did of human beingsI read The Hobbit at the turn of the last quarter of last century Although itrsquos a memorable book hugely entertaining at one level and profoundly meaningful at another I had forgotten about trolls and their strange ways And I didnrsquot hear or read about trolls till my foray into social media via TwitterThose were days of wellmeaning innocence Two terms I would hear often are lsquotrollrsquo and lsquotrollingrsquo The Urban Dictionary which too I discovered via social media defines a troll as someone who is deliberately provocative disruptive and abusiveA lsquotrollrsquo is someone who ldquocontinually harangues and harasses others has nothing worthwhile to add to a conversation thinks everybody is talking about himher and has multiples monikers to circumvent getting bannedrdquo Trolls also use anonymity as a shield And their online activity is what is known as lsquotrollingrsquoMeeting a troll in the misty mountains of Hobbitland would have been a thrilling if not delightful experience Meeting a lsquotrollrsquo on an online forum especially an open forum like Twitter can prove to be neither thrilling nor delightfulYet not everybody who is impolite to you or does not shares your views or has a bone to pick with you because of real or imaginary grievances or simply has had a bad hair day and is nursing a foul mood is a lsquotrollrsquoNor does someone who pitilessly demolishes your argument or calls you out for being less than truthful with facts or tells you on your face that you are a charlatan andor a philanderer because you indeed are one qualifies to be labelled as lsquotrollrsquoI have no issues with such people even if they are labelled as lsquotrollsrsquo by those who feel unsettled by them On more than one occasion I have defended them because I see them as subaltern sepoys who have at last found a means of having their say and calling the bluff of those given to blusterAlso I quite enjoy watching worms squirm Those mortified by lsquotrollsrsquo like these have had a free run till now No longer shall they go unquestioned no more can they peddle their bunk without a quality or fact check Thatrsquos social mediarsquos biggest contributionYet there are some irritating and bothersome trolls who can leave you enraged But we donrsquot live in a perfect world In real life there are lsquotrollsrsquo all around Colleagues bitch about you behind your back at office Relatives say nasty things about you after dining at your home Examples aboundHence it makes sense to ignore lsquotrollsrsquo who abuse defame and slander others taking recourse to bazar language It also makes sense to ignore the posh lsquotrollsrsquo who pretend to be socially culturally and intellectually superior and believe everybody else is a lsquomoronrsquoSome of these posh lsquotrollsrsquo also happen to media stars courtesy their real and sugar daddies We contemptuously ignore insufferable fools so should we ignore insufferable lsquotrollsrsquo like theseBut thatrsquos easier said than done Often individuals take offence very serious offence to lsquotrollingrsquo by lsquotrollsrsquo What invariably follows is lsquoI feel outragedrsquo or lsquoI feel violatedrsquo Thatrsquos sillyIn the virtual world of social media itrsquos absurd to feel angry or violated not the least because the millions out there give a damn about your feelings Tough luck Get real Deal with itTherersquos a problem though The easily offended the perpetually violated find it difficult to get real and deal with the fact that not everybody is a fawning admirer and an unquestioning toadyNews telly stars who have till now talked down to their audience from the safe confines of their studios are alarmed at being confronted on social media platforms say Twitter for their glaring biases and for running motivated storiesWriters who have pontificated from their ivory towers brooking neither criticism nor correction are horrified for being told on their face that what they produce is bilge Thatrsquos not what they are accustomed to hearingThe Bold and the Beautiful the pretty people who blow kisses call each other lsquodahlingrsquo and pretend to know all about wines and single malts although anything but rum the good old sailorrsquos drink gives them indigestion at Diordrenched Page 3 parties are left speechless by the audacity of the unwashed masses on social media platforms Who let the dogs inThe new digital order did Social media isnrsquot the Gymkhana and Twitter isnrsquot the IIC By the way Bharat speaks English too And guess what Bharat has this terrible habit of questioning hypocrisy exposing duplicity and lampooning gasbags masquerading as intellectualsSo what will you do Write a pompous piece denouncing Bharat That will fetch much mirth and laughter ndash before you know Bharat will be rolling on the floor laughing his ass off Horrible lsquotrollrsquo this Bharat But thatrsquos what you get for removing the digital divide Welcome to the New Virtual World OrderThe writer is a senior journalist based in the National Capital Region His Twitter handle is KanchanGupta