Toxic technocultures

Toxic Technocultures can be seen and understood as another form of cyberbullying and doxxing. It is a group of individuals who are usually leaderless, but form a bond and connection over attacking, harassing, and/or embarrassing a certain person, place, or event. These people come together on online sites where anonymity is enforced and there is a large enough audience to get their point across and opinions heard. These cultures, or groups of people, may never meet in person, but will stand together online in such a way that makes them feel like they have been standing together their entire lives. As Adrienne Massanari states, these cultures of people will attack people, places, and events that fall under the categories of, “gender, sexual identity, sexuality, and race and push against issues of diversity, multiculturalism, and progressivism” (5). (Kelsey Lazicki)

Adrienne Massanari explains her definition on toxic technocultures as, “the toxic cultures that are enabled by and propagated through sociotechnical networks such as Reddit, 4chan, Twitter, and online gaming” (5) in her paper #Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s algorithm, governance, and culture support toxic technocultures. This description shows how these communities thrive on websites where there is less control, rules, and regulations. However, with the lack of rules and enforcement of anonymity, it allows for people involved in toxic technocultures to be able to hide and not publicly affiliate with these groups if they turn into legal cases. (Kelsey Lazicki)

Works Cited

Massanari, Adrienne. "#Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit's Algorithm, Governance, and Culture Support Toxic Technocultures." New Media & Society (2015): 1-18. SAGE. Web.