What exactly is trolling?

I believe that Whitney Philips (out of all the articles) has the best grasp on the definition of trolling that I seem to agree with. There is no exact standard to what trolling is. It can be literally be a small prank or cyber bullying. Not all trolling is considered bad, and society seems to put too much of a restriction on what trolling truly is. Trolling can be humorous for everybody. Being a victim of a troll can sometimes be hilarious because not all trolls’ intentions are to put you down. People say that someone is trolling for things as simple as not answering what someone wants to hear. It’s beyond common now to hear that someone is a troll. Trolling isn’t only the disgusting and mean ones on the internet who seek to ruin your day. Friends can also be trolls if they just do something sarcastically.

Additionally I don’t think trolls can be avoided completely. As soon as you go on the internet, there is a huge chance you can run into a troll. The best thing anyone can do is not take their insults and trolling to heart; however, not everyone can do this. Overall, the safest way is just to stay off the internet or at least go on sites that are monitored; however, going to a site that is not monitored is at your own risk. I personally believe that trolling is an epidemic and it slowly spreads. It won’t stop anytime soon, and I personally think trolling will continue to grow. It is up to people to use their actions and thoughts to make this not affect them as much.

Do you guys think there is a way to actually stop trolling?

Also what exactly are your definitions of “trolling”?