This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things by Whitney Phillips - ISBN: 9780262529877
Paperback
Why the troll problem is actually a culture problem: how online trolling fits comfortably within today’s media landscape.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture

$41.34

  • Paperback

    256 pages

  • Release Date

    2 September 2016

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Summary

Why the internet troll problem is actually a culture problem- how online trolling fits comfortably within today’s media landscape.Internet trolls live to upset as many people as possible, using all the technical and psychological tools at their disposal. They gleefully whip the media into a frenzy over a fake teen drug crisis; they post offensive messages on Facebook memorial pages, traumatizing grief-stricken friends and family; they use unabashedly racist language and images. They take plea…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780262529877
ISBN-10:0262529874
Author:Whitney Phillips
Publisher:MIT Press Ltd
Imprint:MIT Press
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:256
Release Date:2 September 2016
Weight:360g
Dimensions:229mm x 152mm x 13mm
Series:The MIT Press
What They're Saying

Critics Review

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things is a terrific introduction to the world of trolling, exploring how trolls put on figurative masks (or literal masks in the case of online anonymity) and generate lulz from those they encounter. As a former competitive debater in high school and college, I’m dismayed by the violence done to my beloved art of rhetorical controversy. Score some lulz for the trolls, I guess. Highly recommended.

Curtis Frye, Technology and Society Book Reviews

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things is a strong introductory text on the historical and cultural aspects of trolling, and it offers numerous insights into the logics and ideologies that undergird it. This timely work also opens up an opportunity for much-needed dialogue about the ethico-political implications of online antagonism.

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About The Author

Whitney Phillips

Whitney Phillips is Assistant Professor of Communication, Culture, and Digital Technologies at Syracuse University

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