This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream...

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Whitney Phillips (Assistant Professor of Literary Studies and Writing , Humboldt State University)

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture

Whitney Phillips (Assistant Professor of Literary Studies and Writing , Humboldt State University)

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English

Massachusetts Inst of Tec
02 September 2016

Society & Social Sciences; Cultural studies; Ethical & social aspects of computing

Series: The MIT Press

Why the internet troll problem is actually a culture problem- how online trolling fits comfortably within today's media landscape.

Internet trolls live to upset as many people as possible, using all the technical and psychological tools at their disposal. They gleefully whip the media into a frenzy over a fake teen drug crisis; they post offensive messages on Facebook memorial pages, traumatizing grief-stricken friends and family; they use unabashedly racist language and images. They take pleasure in ruining a complete stranger's day and find amusement in their victim's anguish. In short, trolling is the obstacle to a kinder, gentler Internet. 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 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 pantomime of dominant cultural tropes, including gendered notions of dominance and success and an ideology of entitlement. We don't just have a trolling problem, Phillips argues; we have a culture problem. This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things isn't only about trolls; it's about a culture in which trolls thrive.

By: Whitney Phillips (Assistant Professor of Literary Studies and Writing Humboldt State University)
Imprint: Massachusetts Inst of Tec
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 318g
ISBN: 9780262529877
ISBN 10: 0262529874
Series: The MIT Press
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 02 September 2016
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Whitney Phillips is a Lecturer in the Department of Communications at Humboldt State University.

Reviews for This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things is a strong introductory text on the historical and cultural aspects of trolling, and it offers numerous insights into the logics and ideologies that undergird it. This timely work also opens up an opportunity for much-needed dialogue about the ethico-political implications of online antagonism. * PopMatters * This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things is a terrific introduction to the world of trolling, exploring how trolls put on figurative masks (or literal masks in the case of online anonymity) and generate lulz from those they encounter. As a former competitive debater in high school and college, I'm dismayed by the violence done to my beloved art of rhetorical controversy. Score some lulz for the trolls, I guess. Highly recommended. -- Curtis Frye * Technology and Society Book Reviews *

Winner of <PrizeName>Winner of the 2016 Nancy Baym Book Award, sponsored by the Association of Internet Researchers.</PrizeName> 2016
Winner of Winner of the 2016 Nancy Baym Book Award, sponsored by the Association of Internet Researchers. 2016
Winner of Winner of the 2016 Nancy Baym Book Award, sponsored by the Association of Internet Researchers.</PrizeName> 2016