Dogpiling (Internet) and Online Harassment

Dogpiling can quickly turn into online harassment, a serious issue that affects many people.

Online harassment can take many forms, including cyberbullying, hate speech, and stalking.

In extreme cases, online harassment can lead to real-life harm, such as physical violence or even suicide.

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Dogpiling is a phenomenon where multiple users simultaneously attack a single target, reflecting the internet's unique dynamics.

This behavior is often seen as a form of peer conformity, where individuals join in to quickly enforce social boundaries.

Traditional norms, on the other hand, emphasize individual accountability and discourage excessive group targeting.

Anonymity and rapid information flow on the internet amplify collective behavior beyond traditional social constraints.

In internet subculture norms, dogpiling is sometimes tolerated or even encouraged, allowing it to thrive in online communities.

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Dogpiling can have serious consequences on mental health, particularly for individuals who are already vulnerable.

Cyberbullying can lead to depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts in some cases. The constant barrage of hurtful comments and messages can be overwhelming and affect a person's self-esteem.

According to studies, 40% of teens have experienced online harassment, which can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness.

This can be especially damaging for people who are already struggling with mental health issues, as it can exacerbate their symptoms and make it harder to cope.

Dogpiling can take many forms, but it's often characterized by multiple users simultaneously attacking a single target.

In the context of internet culture, this collective behavior is amplified by anonymity and rapid information flow, allowing groups to quickly enforce social boundaries.

Traditional norms may discourage excessive group targeting, but internet subculture norms often tolerate or even encourage dogpiling as a form of peer conformity.

Astroturfing is the dissemination or amplification of content that appears to arise organically but is actually coordinated by an individual or group.

It's a tactic used to intimidate and harass people, like the bloggers in Kenya during the 2017 general election who used different hashtags to bully journalists and civil society members.

Astroturfing is effective because harassers go to great lengths to make fake accounts seem real, which can be hard to spot.

To protect yourself, check for signs that an account might be fake, such as inconsistencies in their story or behavior.

Deploying a supportive community can help you report accounts, block and mute, and document the abuse.

If you're considering investigating the astroturfing campaign, take a look at the guidelines for practicing counterspeech to expose and discredit it.

The Mozilla Foundation's research in Kenya revealed that influencers were paid to directly harass politicians' opponents, showing how astroturfing can be used for political gain.

Dogpiling is a form of online behavior where multiple users target a single individual, reflecting the internet's unique dynamics.

Traditional norms discourage excessive group targeting, but internet subculture norms often tolerate or even encourage dogpiling as a way to quickly enforce social boundaries.

Anonymity and rapid information flow on the internet amplify collective behavior beyond traditional social constraints.

This phenomenon can lead to the rapid escalation of online conflicts, making it essential to understand the dynamics of dogpiling.

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Ratioing is a practice where online communities enforce conformity by highlighting digital peer validation through public metrics like likes, comments, and shares.

This approach is a stark contrast to traditional norms, which emphasize face-to-face peer conformity and established community standards.

In online communities, Ratioing can be a powerful tool for enforcing social norms, as people are often motivated to conform to what their peers are doing.

By leveraging public metrics, individuals can gauge their acceptance and approval within the community, which can be a strong driver of behavior.

In the context of dogpiling, Ratioing can be a way to amplify and accelerate the process of social exclusion, where individuals are ostracized or shamed for not conforming to community standards.

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Cyber-mob attacks can be overwhelming and exhausting, like playing a game of whack-a-mole. If reporting abuse isn't getting you anywhere, consider asking a member of your support community to monitor and report the abuse on your behalf while you take a break.

It's essential to know that cyber-mob attacks often involve a large group of abusers collectively attacking a target through a barrage of threats, slurs, insults, and other abusive tactics. Outrage mobs, in particular, focus on publicly exposing, humiliating, and punishing a target for expressing opinions on politically charged topics.

To cope with the volume and reach of the attacks, it helps to rally a supportive cyber community to share the burden of documenting, reporting, blocking, and muting the abuse. As Bethany Mandel experienced, trying to navigate cyber-mob attacks can be a challenge, but having a support community can make a big difference.

Cross-platform harassment is a serious concern, and it's essential to understand how it works. It's a coordinated and deliberate attack that takes advantage of the fact that most platforms only moderate content on their own sites.

This type of harassment can be overwhelming, and it's critical to tighten your cybersecurity to protect yourself from hacking and doxing. Cross-platform harassment can be particularly challenging to deal with, and it's helpful to rally a supportive cyber community to share the burden of documenting, reporting, blocking, and muting the abuse.

As we've seen in the case of Bethany Mandel, who experienced a surge of anti-Semitic trolling from white nationalists, reporting the abuse isn't always enough. In such cases, it's a good idea to ask a member of your support community to monitor and report the abuse on your behalf while you take a break.

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Cross-platform harassment can also involve the hijacking of hashtags, as we've seen with the #TakeBackTheTech and #ImagineAFeministInternet campaigns. To cope with the volume and reach of the attacks, it's essential to stay vigilant and adapt your strategies as needed.

Rallying a supportive cyber community can be a game-changer in dealing with cross-platform harassment. This can involve creating a new supportive hashtag or reclaiming a hijacked one, as comedian and actress Leslie Jones' fans did with #justiceforleslie.

Zoombombing is a type of cyber-mob attack where someone hijacks a virtual meeting and disrupts communication.

This can be done by sharing text, video, or audio that's meant to intimidate or harass others, often with targeted reasons such as disrupting business activities or identity-based attacks on marginalized groups.

Journalists Kara Swisher and Jessica Lessin experienced this firsthand when they had to shut down a Zoom event focused on women in tech due to abusive trolls sharing pornography.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Global Forum for Media Development offer excellent guidance on how to tighten your Zoom settings and what to do if you're Zoombombed.

Regularly updating Zoom and other videoconferencing software is also crucial, as they constantly release new security features.

If you're targeted with hate or threats, report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Dogpiling, a phenomenon where online harassment escalates into a mob-like behavior, is a stark contrast to traditional norms of social interaction. The unwritten rules driving peer behavior and acceptance in online groups, as seen in the Internet Subculture Norm, are what enable dogpiling to occur.

In traditional social settings, direct social pressure and verbal cues enforce social norms, but in online communities, digital feedback, likes, comments, and online reputation play a crucial role. This shift in enforcement mechanisms has significant implications for how we navigate online interactions.

The need for virtual status, identity affirmation, and group membership drives conformity in online groups, making it easier for dogpiling to take hold. This is especially true in the age of social media, where our online presence is often a reflection of our self-worth.

In contrast, traditional norms are often rigid and based on longstanding cultural or social traditions, limiting their flexibility. In contrast, the Internet Subculture Norm is highly fluid, evolving rapidly with trends and memes.

Here's a comparison of traditional norms and Internet Subculture Norms:

The consequences of non-conformity in online communities can be severe, including online trolling, loss of followers, or digital shaming. This can have real-world implications, affecting our mental health and well-being.

Traditional norms of enforcement are shifting online, where digital shaming mechanisms like viral call-outs and online harassment enforce behavior swiftly and publicly.

Victims of dogpiling can experience a range of negative effects, including feeling less self-esteem.

Adolescents, particularly female adolescents, are more likely to be susceptible to these effects from dogpiling.

These online dynamics can have a lasting impact on individuals, particularly those who are already vulnerable.

Being targeted by a group of people, also known as dogpiling, can have severe effects on the victim's mental health.

Victims of dogpiling may experience a significant decline in self-esteem due to the intense social pressure and ridicule they face.

Adolescents, particularly female adolescents, are more likely to be susceptible to these effects from dogpiling.

The emotional toll of dogpiling can be overwhelming, leading to various emotional reactions, including anxiety, depression, and feelings of worthlessness.

In extreme cases, dogpiling can even trigger suicidal thoughts and self-harm ideations, highlighting the urgent need for support and intervention.

Concern Trolling can be a real time-waster, making it seem like you're getting helpful feedback but really it's just a way to get under your skin. Abusers pose as fans or supporters of your work and make hurtful comments masked as constructive feedback.

Blocking concern trolls can sometimes make things worse, so it's best to mute them instead, which hides their abusive content from your view. This way, you can still focus on your work without getting sidetracked.

To take it a step further, be sure to report any content that crosses the line from annoying to abusive, and consider rallying a supportive online community to have your back. This can help you deal with concern trolls more effectively.

Traditional norms enforce peer conformity through social sanctions like ostracism or public reprimand in real-life settings, ensuring compliance via community pressure.

In contrast, internet subculture norms leverage digital shaming mechanisms, including viral call-outs and online harassment, to enforce behavior swiftly and publicly across virtual platforms.

This shift from localized enforcement to pervasive, instantaneous digital accountability in modern social regulation is a significant change.

Social sanctions in real-life settings can be effective, but they often rely on a sense of shared community and collective values.

Digital shaming, on the other hand, can be more immediate and widespread, but it can also be more hurtful and damaging.

Victims of digital shaming may feel less self-esteem, experience various emotional reactions, and even consider self-harm or suicidal thoughts.

Adolescents, particularly female adolescents, are more likely to be susceptible to these effects from digital shaming.

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Dogpiling can be a frustrating experience, especially when it's done in a way that's not constructive.

In the case of the Reddit comment thread, a single user was "dogpiled" by multiple others, leading to a huge influx of comments and a lot of noise.

Dogpiling can happen in real-time, like in the Twitter example, where a user's tweet is quickly flooded with replies.

A single comment or post can spark a dogpiling, like in the YouTube video example, where a user's video was suddenly flooded with comments and dislikes.

Dogpiling can also be a way for people to show support, as seen in the online community example, where a user's post was flooded with positive comments and messages.

In some cases, dogpiling can be a way for people to take down a user or a post, as seen in the online forum example, where a user's post was quickly flooded with negative comments and downvotes.

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