The Internet (or at least Twitter and MySpace) bade farewell to Trent Reznor and Stephanie Meyer respectively, if not respectfully, last week. Each of them blamed incessant harassment by trolls for their departures.
Some may roll their eyes and dismiss these complaints as thin-skinned… but it’s hard to underestimate just how debilitating the deluge of abuse can be. While XKCD offered one ingenious solution to the problem, and others are suggesting an end to anonymity online, I’m inclined to agree with Sarah Perez, who suggests the only real answer, for now, is that celebrities who can’t cope with the torrent of crap should staff up with a communications team to handle it for them.
Which would, unfortunately, make social media not much different than most other social venues, at least for celebs. But that might be the price of fame, when any bozo with a ‘net connection can draw you in their sights.
