If you thought that the internet had a chance of becoming a nicer place at any point in the near future, it might be time to give up hope.
"Harassment, trolls, and an overall tone of griping, distrust, and disgust" will stay the norm on the internet over the next decade, experts told the Pew Research Center in a new report.
The Pew Research Center and the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University surveyed about 1,500 technology experts, scholars, corporate practitioners and government leaders in July and August 2016 for the study, and the results are pretty demoralizing.
Forty-two percent of respondents thought the internet would stay the same sometimes less-than-pleasant place over the next 10 years, while another 39 percent said they thought the internet would become a more negative environment. Just under 20 percent of experts thought the internet had any chance of getting better over the next decade when it comes to harassment and trolling.
"To troll is human."
Experts responded to these questions in mid-2016, before any public conversation about fake news or the role of social networks in politics and the election. But they still had some interesting ideas about why trolling will last.
"Things will stay bad because to troll is human," the report said. Bad behavior isn't new: it just has a new name on the internet.
There are economic and political incentives to supporting and allowing trolling, particularly for social networks like Twitter and other tech companies that have little incentive to shut down trolls. And the media organizations that used to shape public conversations — and were dedicated to an appearance of civility — have shrunk in influence.
The continued creation of online communities, with AI and human moderators who fight trolls, will at least be one way to fight harassment online, experts thought.
The rest of the report is just full of quotes from the professors, digital strategists and engineers who responded. You can read more of their thoughts here, or just, you know, go on Reddit.
TopicsReddit
(责任编辑：百科)
Mall builds real
Glitches and exploits hilariously ruined a recent 'For Honor' tournament#BizChats: 5 ways to balance parenthood and building your businessZach Braff's plea to play Stephen Miller on 'SNL' is waaaay too thirstyTwo astronauts just installed a new parking spot on the International Space StationWhat brands need to know about virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is all the rage. Premium publishers like USA Today, the New York Times, and AOL
...[详细]Budding little makeup artist melts hearts during her first tutorial
If you want to make your dreams come true, it's never too early to start.Evie Mitchell from Bellshil
...[详细]These memes are far tougher on Jared Kushner than any GOP Senator
Jared Kushner put on his big boy pants yesterday and headed to the Senate to courageously testify in
...[详细]'Game of Thrones' brought back someone we've sorely missed, and we're screaming
Spoilers below for。 Game of Thrones
。Season 7, episode 5. So don't act like you haven't been warned. 。
...[详细]Samsung Galaxy Note7 teardown reveals the magic behind the phone's iris scanner
Samsung's Galaxy Note7 is touted by many reviewers as one of the best, if not the best, smartphones
...[详细]Outlander's final season is still a long way off, thank goodness
Fans of George R. R. Martin's。 A Song of Ice and Fire
。series have had to come to terms with the fact
...[详细]David Letterman is coming back to TV with Netflix deal
He's back. 。David Letterman will return to television with a new partner—Netflix. 。The new show
...[详细]This 'Game of Thrones' character looks oddly familiar for a very good reason
Warning: Contains spoilers for Game of ThronesSeason 7, episode 3.Remember that Game of Thronesextra
...[详细]This weird squid looks like it has googly eyes, guys
Internet, meet your new spirit animal.。Scientists aboard the research vessel the E/V Nautilus, off t
...[详细]A round of applause for student counter
On Friday night, a band of cowardly racists marched through the University of Virginia campus in Cha
...[详细]