Chapter 4 -‐ Characteristics of YouTube Trolls: The Case of PewDiePie
4.1 Aggression
國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
4.1 Aggression
As seen, in table 1, all 23 (100%) YouTube trolls identified in this study exhibited
‘aggression’ in their interactions with other users. By definition, the most successful trolls on YouTube are able to attract the most “negative” attention and goad many other users into retaliating -‐ aggression has proven to be one of the most effective techniques in achieving this task. Aggression, often takes the form of several recurrent and predictable forms including insulting and threatening PewDiePie or his fans:
Example (1)
(FURRY HYENA) Pewdiepie sucks and his content is garbage!
Example (2)
(Shark zibr) Oh yeah also hope pewdiepie dies and all his “bros”
Example (3)
(Super Nova) How retarded are these kids? Oh wait, they're Pewdiepie fans, I forgot haha.
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Table 2. Patterns of Aggression in YouTube Trolls
Table 2
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
As indicated in table 2, aggression can be further parsed into several common forms as utilized by trolls. The most common form of aggression included attacks on users’
intelligence, which occurred in every single trolls’ interactions, except one -‐ Shark zibr.
These attacks are usually paired with remarks that refer to the persisting notion that PewDiePie’s fan base is comprised primarily of young and juvenile children:
Example (4)
(gazzak98) kids like his immaturity because kids are fucking stupid.
Example (5)
(EGPrime) Oh, whatever was I thinking? I SHALL CHANGE MY WAYS -‐ HAIL PEWDS, KING OF THE TODDLERS ON THE INTERNET.
Example (6)
(Jake Jeffery) 95% of his fan base are 12 year olds, that's because only 12 year olds are sad and stupid enough to watch this shite and actually enjoy it.
Similar to example (6), many trolls will associate a specific age or age range to PewDiePie’s fans. Attacks on intelligence may not necessarily be connected to PewDiePie fandom as seen in the examples above. Instead, trolls may also base their attacks on their beliefs of a user’s weak arguments or poor grammar (another common theme), or they may simply wish to further antagonize users:
Example (7)
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
(SquieWeeBros) that show how stupid you are, retard. you wouldent know comedy if i[t] bit you on the ass.
Example (8)
(BBL Podcast) Oh so you're a immature 12 year old? because i can tell from horrible comebacks and poor grammar.
Example (9)
(JokingAreYou) I’ve been over this. Come back when you have a good argument down you down syndrome incest baby.
Example (10)
(EGPrime) Sorry, did I break your stupid mind?
Somewhat connected to attacks to intelligence, another common method of aggression utilized by trolls (as well as their victims) includes what is known in online parlance as
“grammar nazi” behavior, which includes correcting and attacking others based on their grammar, spelling or overall writing skills. This was present in 55% of trolls’ interactions with their victims:
Example (11)
(Erim Aydinalp): You probably have an iq of 40 because you can’t even form proper sentences.
Example (12)
(Super Nova) Can you people type in proper English? It's hard for me to understand retarded language.
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
Example (13)
(Lyric): Last time I checked there aren't multiple clones of me on here. The term is singular not plural. Noob not noobz.
Example (14)
(EpicNEd): You're getting better, now you need to capitalize the beginning of your sentences.
“Grammar nazi” tendencies are common not only throughout YouTube, but across the entire online world -‐ it is theorized this is the case because in users are limited to superficial judgments of online others and judging one based on their writing style provides one of the only justifiable sources of criticism. Trolls also may use this method as a form of
condescension -‐ elevating one’s self to a higher position while looking down upon those they are redressing.
A less common but more aggravating means of aggression includes sexual and vulgar comments (45% of trolls), largely directed towards users who have replied to the troll:
Example (15)
(Jake Jeffery): Drink the contents of my ball sack.
Example (16)
(Jeenius Foo): No, i need you to hold my cock and suck it, in the parking lot.
Trolls also commonly reference others’ family members in their crudely crafted comments, attempting to exploit an individual’s emotions where most sensitive. These comments are
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
arguably one of the highest forms of aggression as they aim to provoke others based on their high shock value and overall offensiveness:
Example (17)
(gazzak98) yeah because I fucked your two sisters Example (18)
(SquieWeeBros) go back to your jungle monkey boy and suck your fathers dick :))))))))) Example (19)
(Babywannabe) fuck you bitch i bang your mom i said FUCK RIGHT IN THE PUSSY!!! AND SHE SAID OHHHH YEA BABY HARDER HARDER!!!
In example (19), Babywannabe was markedly aggressive towards his victims and continued to post a long string of responses, all similar in tone to the example above.
Other forms of aggression include attacks on race, gender and sexual orientation.
These points are more thoroughly explained in the following chapter regarding the social implications of trolls. Apart from these tactics, other forms of aggression were much less pronounced across trollish behaviors.
As indicated in table 2, all trolls had at one point directed their aggression towards fans in the comments section, while only about half (57%) had ever posted aggressive remarks towards PewDiePie. Perhaps this is because trolls were more likely to harbor negative views towards PewDiePie’s fans or maybe they were more concerned with trolling other online users, and PewDiePie’s videos merely provided a bonanza of “lulz” victims. It is undeterminable, but likely, that these very same trolls might have been active on other YouTube videos and PewDiePie was just an external factor for them. As a final point, while
‧
國立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
most trolls were fairly direct with their aggression, jelena jankovic (20)(21) was the only troll to have exclusively exhibited passive-‐aggressive tendencies:
Example (20)
(Mohammad “TheMtarGaMer” Matari): because your a dumbass and being owned on the internent. hey let me join. #momgetthecamrea
(jelena jankovic): #momthisguymispelledcamera Example (21)
(Razerware146): omfg hahaha Facepalm It's not a stereotype if it's true hahaha.
(jelena jankovic): WALLPALM A stereotype doesn't need to be true... #Derp
It is also worth mentioning that jelena jankovic “appeared” to have used her real name and profile picture, indicating that she is female. If so, her non-‐anonymous status and female identity might be significant factors in assessing her rather tame commenting style in comparison with other trolls.