There have always been trolls. Hecklers, jesters, and class clowns. The troll lives under the bridge and invents nonsense grievances in order to get attention.
But, until recently, there wasn’t much of a business model to support this career choice. It’s said that William Randolph Hearst started a war to sell newspapers, but few people owned newspapers…
Social media changes this. Algorithms can be gamed for attention. People who are willing to tear down others for fame and short-term gain can leverage their selfish actions, create clicks, and get paid for it. They stage a car crash and turn our rubbernecking attention into cash.
To make it worse, it compounds. Trolls have to outtroll each other to keep the attention coming.
Professional wrestling is a choice, but no one insisted we all watch it.
The solution is right in front of us, and won’t require many people to implement. Give us a troll button and set the default to opt-out. Deplatform the trolls, except for those who want to engage with them.
It’s not obvious how to rank and rate what qualifies as trolling, but I’m sure the algorithm wizards can figure that out. If the companies push back, they ought to be willing to acknowledge that trolling is a profit center for them, and they’re willing to trade our peace of mind and cohesion for a few bucks.
Your social media scroll might get a bit less amusing, but the upside is that the world we live in will get better. And so will your day.
When we change the incentives for people seeking attention, their actions will change as well.
You can’t go into a bank with a mask on and expect to be treated as a valued customer. We get the culture we reward.