Gemma Styles

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BEING TROLLED ONLINE AND HOW TO DEAL WITH IT

Trolls. If you’re a child of the ’90s like myself, the first thing the word conjures up is quite likely to be a weird, naked little doll with very fluffy hair. Right now, however, it’s more commonly used to describe your classic ‘keyboard warrior’ – a person on the internet who, anonymously or not, likes to send a bunch of horrible abuse around the web.

I probably have a bit of a weird experience of social media in general. My usage has been heavily influenced by the fan base that make up a vast percentage of my followers and I’ve seen a lot of ‘hate’ being chucked at celebrities, me and especially anyone who crosses the mob. (It should be noted that the majority of One Direction fans are really, very nice.) When I talk trolling, I certainly don’t mean it’s an issue confined to this group but it’s a big part of what I’ve seen.

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