Mental Health: The Toxicity of Being Trolled
A woman is 27 times more likely to be trolled on social media.
In the US, 41% of adults have experienced cyberbullying according to 2017 statistics.
Out of every 8 individuals, one has been bullied online.
Approximately 57% of young adults are convinced that they were targets of online bullying because of their appearance. 9% believe that their race was the reason they were being trolled, while another 9% believed that sexuality was the reason why trolls targeted them.
Not everyone who has been trolled online reports it, so the actual prevalence of cyberbullying may be way higher.
These statistics are heartbreaking because in a way they mirror the realities of the offline world.
It is sad that the psychological impact of online trolling is still understated mainly because it remains under-researched.
Amnesty International reports that victims of online abuse suffer anxiety, stress, loss of confidence, panic attacks and powerlessness. All these things combined can push someone to experience depression.
It’s sad that there are people who think that as long as the abuse is done online, its impact is reduced and it can therefore be shrugged off. No, majority of the women who participated in the study done by Amnesty International agreed that since their offline and online identities are interlinked, being trolled online truly impacted their offline lives.
“But the online world is real and our offline lives are absolutely integrated with the online space. The idea that we don’t need online platforms to survive is false.” Erin Matson, US activist and blogger.
Most women in the US and UK agree that being trolled online impacts lives widely than people like to admit. 63% of women in the US and 61% of women in the UK totally disagree with the opinion that ignoring online harassment and abuse can actually stop it.
UNESCO through their study of Building Digital Safety for Journalists reports;
“Despite a lack of aggregated data and specific studies on the issue, experts say there is enough evidence to suggest that the online harassment of journalists, including threats of violence, has a serious psychological impact that may result in self-censorship.”
The study done by Amnesty international sheds a light on how women feel as a result of being abused online. 41% of women who had been trolled online felt like their physical safety had been threatened. Even worse is the fact that more than half of the women who had been trolled online found it hard to focus on their daily tasks completely.
They were stressed out, they had feelings of apprehension and they suffered anxiety and panic attacks too.
There are different types of online harassments;
· Trolling; commenting negatively or in a hurtful way in order to discredit, upset or humiliate another person online.
· Message bombing; this is when someone uses bots to send very many texts, emails, chats or messages with the intention of having an account blocked.
· Doxing; doxing can be done to facilitate identity theft. It is where very private information; for instance, home address of phone number is shared online. Other times, a person’s information may be shared in a way that exposes that individual to online or physical harassment.
· Revenge porn; when someone’s explicit content is shared online (videos, photographs) without their consent, then that becomes harassment. In the US over 41 states have laws that protect people from revenge porn.
· Swatting; making reports of illegal activity happening in someone’s home falsely. It’s not only inconvenient, but it can endanger the life of the individual who has been swatted.
The dark side of cyberbullying
It is not only difficult, but avoiding social media completely may be impossible at times. After all, our society is completely anchored in technology. If you won’t need social media apps, you will probably find that you need to use your email for work or for personal reasons.
Victims of online harassment have trouble carrying out ordinary tasks. They suffer from stress and anxiety. The stress can also lead to poor academic and workplace performance. Suicide attempts, suicidal thoughts and depression can occur as a result of persistent harassment.
When your feelings of emotional safety are compromised, your psychological health suffers as well. Even worse is the fact that there are people who are more vulnerable to cyberbullying. People who have experienced trauma or those who have a history of depressive disorders like depression or anxiety can be easily triggered by cyberbullying.
Public humiliation is dangerous. It can aggravate low self-esteem, isolation and worthlessness. A certain study done in 2017 on the effects of cyberstalking reported that many participants changed their jobs and their daily routine as a result of being stalked online.
Again, feelings of low self-esteem were reported in 40% of people who had been trolled. 30% of them also believed that they were not safe.
As the youth face more instances of being bullied online, they developed symptoms of mental health problems. They became depressed, dissociated, anxious and isolated among other things. Suicidal thoughts are 3 times more prevalent in trolled adolescents than in those who had not been trolled.
It’s sad that even as all these things continue to happen, victims of cyberbullying still struggle with the thought of seeking help.
