The Evolution of Troll

What is a troll? Now, the answer to that question remained about the same for centuries, that was until the invention of the world wide web. According to Webster's a troll is a dwarf or giant going back to Scandanavian folklore, a way of fishing, to antagonize others online by deliberately posting inflammatory, irrelevant, or offensive comments or other disruptive content.

Sadly, the stories of the past that have been carried on for hundreds of years have been buried below the pile of recent data concerning our modern definition of a troll. What once hid under bridges collecting tolls in fairy tales, now haunts our daily lives from the shadows of what I can only imagine being a sad, dark home. Of course, folklore also tells stories of trolls turning to stone when they contact sunlight.

Trolls were said to have been reclusive beasts. They were mean, grumpy characters and by the paintings of our ancestors, they looked hideous. Another key characteristic was their lack of logical or critical thinking, as they were easily outsmarted according to our fairy tales.

For a tiny portion of our world's history, the troll was most known as a fuzzy-haired lucky little doll. First created in 1959 by a Danish fisherman, Thomas Dam as a Christmas gift, these dolls were the craze in the 1960's, '70's and made a comeback in the 1990's.

Unfortunately, the history of the troll did not stop in the 1990's. As the cute doll craze slowed once more, a new era was emerging. With all the goodness that came with being instantly connected across the world, a darkness of course followed. The dark hideous character that once hid under bridges and in caves now hid behind a screen, using their fingers as swords, cutting innocent victims. The similarities of the folklore troll and the modern-day troll are all too similar.

When researching for this piece, I quickly became disturbed at the data coming out concerning trolls and cyberbullying. Here are some quick numbers:

(Sources: research gate, science daily)

I really took notice when I came across an account being very nasty to a disabled content creator. After experiencing all the nonsense going on in the world, I had become immune to just how nasty people really are to each other, so I started searching on social media. I wanted to find a popular post that was "troll-free" in the comments, and after two days I gave up searching.

I must add, once I took notice of all that was going on I decided to take a personal inventory as well. I too had become a troll, especially when in regard to a topic that I felt passionate about. I had learned this behavior by simply trying to go up against another troll. I became a troll. This made me realize just how easy it is to drift into unwanted behavior, and with that sort of approach, I was no better than the worst of trolls.

Every day, we as a planet keep evolving, growing hopefully always in a positive direction. So many things that stress us today will become irrelevant and even forgotten about. This makes me wonder in another 100 years, what the definition of a troll might be? I hope we can at least take it back to the fuzzy happy dolls that we dress up in any way possible.