Credits

Poem by Shane Koyczan

Has the internet stripped us of our empathy? Has it made us heartless? Does the seemingly anonymous nature of a computer screen dehumanise us? And, if not, how was trolling conceived?

Yup, trolls. The word we have given to those that attack through the protection of the web. Who see their hurtful words as a mere voiced opinion without a human face so full of emotion to attach it to.

It is a battle of our time. This doesn't just happen in business. Adult to adult. This happens in our schools, in our playgrounds, in our homes. As connected as we are to our online personas, there's no aspect of our loves that are safe from troll infestation.

Something award winning poet, Shane Koyczan, knows all too well.

He was severely bullied as a child, experiencing abuse as it merged into new digital mediums. But through his hurt, he found a voice that would articulate the plight of millions. The war against the troll.

This is a beautiful and gravely relevant creation and a call to think twice about the words we throw so frivolously into the digital ether.