Global Journal of Human-Social Science, A: Arts and Humanities, Volume 22 Issue 7

© 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue VII Version I 39 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 A Social Media and Meme Trolling: The Impact of Trolling through Memes in Kashmir About 83% of students agreed that their social media usage is affected by trolling through memes. Moreover, they revealed that if any student or person is trolled on social media platforms or any other platforms on the internet, it decreases the usage of their activeness on any social media platform. Only 17 percent of the students disagreed with this question and stated that trolling does not affect their social media usage. Among the students who were part of this research study, nearly 80 percent agreed that supporting or opposing trolls affects their judging capability. Their decision-making capability is affected by trollers. Only 20% disagreed that their judging of trollers who troll a person affects them. They stated that their decisions are not influenced by the trolling of people through memes. Internet memes are the main reason people judge others and their influence help in supporting or opposing the trollers. Trolling a person leads to a change in usage of social media platforms; when people are trolled based on color, sex, religion, etc., they feel insecure and irritated and may even go away from social media because they get hurt though trolling. Most of the time, people who are sportspersons, celebrities, etc., are disturbed and even quit all social media platforms. a) Usage of internet memes through social networking media to troll people The students who were part of this research revealed that People usually use internet memes to oppose or criticize others. Trolling through memes, mainly digital natives, has increased many folds in Kashmir. These memes are generally passed from one person to another through internet, mainly through social networking sites, to spread to a large audience. Internet memes are generally user-generated or further recreated through internet users. 67% of students claimed that memes were for trolling. They opined that it is so because trolling through internet memes is inexpensive, free to create, and becomes viral within seconds on the internet. b) Internet memes and paradigm shift in trolling Students claimed that internet memes were not present in the past, and trolling was done with word of mouth. Face-to-face trolling at the local level was abundant. However, as soon as internet memes appeared in 1993, digital trolling became prominent (Rajkhowa, 2021). The trolling of people moved from the offline world to the online. Internet memes paved the way for trolling people in new ways. Students stated that trolling had increased many times with the advent of the internet, particularly in Kashmir. It is easy to troll anyone with simple text and images posted online. Internet memes are given importance as their content is given much priority now. Besides, there has been a shift in the trolling media. The most popular memes are those found on the internet, which have resulted in a paradigm change in meme usage. c) The Impact of Internet memes on Trolling Trolling through memes is much used, particularly in Kashmir among youth. The research study revealed that most people use trolling as fun. To criticize or create a joke about one person, whether that person is aware or not, the troll is created regularly in Kashmir. 80% 20% Chart 4: Do trolling through memes influence your judgment of supporting or opposing the trollers? Yes No