"Apparently Being a Self-Obsessed C**t Is Now Academically Lauded": Experiencing Twitter Trolling of Autoethnographers

“If your institution refuses to provide what you need, create it yourself”: Feminist praxis on #AcademicTwitter

“…For example, we discussed the capacity for Twitter to destabilise and challenge power, to validate experiences, and to collectivise and unionise people towards a common goal (e.g., Careless, 2015;Locke et al, 2018). We also discussed how Twitter has the capacity for people to be trolled online, given how social media are often spaces of misogyny, online abuse, and harassment (e.g., Campbell, 2017).…”

“…Firstly, Twitter's openness means that employers may be able to locate an academic's online profile, which represents another powerful force that users must contend with. The open accessibility of Twitter also means that the platform is open and accessible to trolls, bullies, or online abusers (Campbell, 2017). Negative experiences on Twitter largely intersect with privileges; certain minoritized groups may be more susceptible to these online harms.…”

“…To promote good practice and protect the anonymity of participants, the data presented here are paraphrased in a manner that retains the original meaning. We made this decision with the aim of minimising potential harms to account holders, given the precarity of academia and widespread reports of abuse, trolling, and the silencing of academics online, particularly women (Campbell, 2017;Kınıkoğlu & Can, 2021). Reporting the original tweets could draw attention to individual account holders, potentially holding them accountable to their universities and making them vulnerable to online abuse.…”

Embracing Authenticity and Vulnerability in Online PhD Studies: The Self and a Community

“…Through engaging with a set of difficult readings, complex ideas, and new perspectives, online doctoral students are guided to break their misleading impressions of each other and nurture a culture of openness. Students are encouraged to articulate their feelings of uncertainty and insecurity and share their honest opinions on autoethnography-a radically subjectivist research methodology, which frequently provokes intensive debates among academics as well (see Campbell 2017). Although there has been a growing popularity of qualitative methodologies in educational research (Denzin and Lincoln 2008;Merriam 1988), most of my students seem to be inclined to positivist ideas.…”

“…Autoethnographers are often criticised for 'being narcissists'. Campbell (2017) effectively captures such criticism in her autoethnographic writing of her experience of Twitter trolling:…”