The administrators of Facebook page ‘Lingusamy Memes’, which became a platform for trolls to mock the filmmaker after the release of his latest movie Anjaan , have said they will either take down the page or rename it.
In a message to The Hindu MetroPlus , they said, “We weren’t aware of what and how it would affect him. These days, every single movie and its dialogues are being trolled in social media. That’s exactly what we did without any intention of hurting anyone. But, when we learnt that it reached even his children, we felt it was wrong.” This message was in reaction to the filmmaker’s interview to The Hindu , where he said that even his children were aware of the trolling.
In the recent times, the phenomenon of online trolling has become a serious issue, with movies and movie stars often being at the receiving end. Recently, a television anchor covering the International Film Festival of India in Goa was mocked on social media for her gaffes. In a video message, the anchor had said that she felt ‘suicidal’ after the incident.
Lakshmi Vijayakumar, psychiatrist and founder of Sneha, an organisation that offers help to depressed and suicidal people, said online trolling and bullying had become a huge issue.
“The younger generation spend a lot of time on the net and they feel really bad when they are being trolled. Many working people are also attacked with sexist and racist remarks,” she said.
While this cannot be stopped, said social media consultant Arun Rajagopalan who consults for Fox Star Studios, the response must be timely and strategic. “It is something you can’t avoid in the world of social media. For an Ajith or a Vijay movie, fans themselves will defend it when rival fans mock. If online trolling goes out of hand, it could actually affect the box office collection,” he says.
The best response when being subjected to trolling is to not feed the troll by reacting to it, Dr. Vijayakumar said. “Trolls, typically, are looking for attention and studies have shown they have sociopathic tendencies. They want you to react. The best way would be to laugh about it.”
