LOLing at tragedy: Facebook trolls, memorial pages and resistance to grief online

Authors

  • Whitney Phillips University of Oregon

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v16i12.3168

Keywords:

Trolling, Facebook, Online grief, cyberbullying, disaster humor

Abstract

This paper examines the emergence of organized trolling behaviors on Facebook, specifically in relation to memorial groups and fan pages. In addition to mapping the development of RIP trolling — in which online instigators post abusive comments and images onto pages created for and dedicated to the deceased — the paper also examines the highly contentious and ultimately parasitic relationship(s) between memorial trolls, Facebook’s social networking platform and mainstream media outlets. Recalling Oring’s account of disaster humor, the paper goes on to suggest that, inadvertently or not, Facebook memorial page trolling presents a pointed critique of a tragedy–obsessed global media.

Author Biography

Whitney Phillips, University of Oregon

Ph.D. Student and Writing Instructor at the University of Oregon

Downloads

Published

2011-11-28

How to Cite

Phillips, W. (2011). LOLing at tragedy: Facebook trolls, memorial pages and resistance to grief online. First Monday, 16(12). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v16i12.3168