2015 Schedule
Interactive: March 13–17  •  Film: March 13–21  •  Music: March 17–22

Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture

Monday, March 16
4:30PM - 4:50PM

Austin Convention Center
Ballroom G
Austin Convention Center

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To quote a famous Internet meme, trolling is why we can't have nice things online. Or at least that's what we have been led to believe. In this provocative book, Whitney Phillips argues that trolling, widely condemned as obscene and deviant, actually fits comfortably within the contemporary media landscape. Trolling may be obscene, but, Phillips argues, it isn't all that deviant. Trolls' actions are born of and fueled by culturally sanctioned impulses – which are just as damaging as the trolls' most disruptive behaviors.

Phillips describes, for example, the relationship between trolling and sensationalist corporate media – pointing out that for trolls, exploitation is a leisure activity; for media, it's a business strategy. She shows how trolls, "the grimacing poster children for a socially networked world," align with social media. And she documents how trolls, in addition to parroting media tropes, also offer a grotesque...

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Hashtags

#sxsw #Trolling

Presenters

Whitney Phillips

Communication Lecturer

Humboldt State University

Details

Access
Interactive Badge, Gold Badge, Platinum Badge
Type
Book Reading
Theme
Social and Privacy
Level
Intermediate

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