Growing up can be a difficult time for adolescents, and there are many who have probably had to face bullying or being the butt of jokes at some point in their upbringing. With the rise of the world wide web, bullies now have a place to hide as they target and harass other users. With this phenomenon, the internet term “LOLCow,” which has been around for a while but is now regaining its popularity, was formed.
What is a lolcow?
According to the Urban Dictionary, the term lolcow is used to refer to a person on the internet that is made fun of for the content they create or the things they do or say. The word comes from the act of milking a cow, as the targets are usually “milked” or egged on for others’ entertainment. Despite being for a negative reason, people who are deemed lolcows on different social media platforms usually gain lots of attention, with their views, following, and even videos made about them going viral. Even if the general public of internet users agree that the person is “cringe” or has done bad actions, videos continue to be made about them, and they continue to get views and comments that boost their fame. One of the most recent examples of this pattern is Ashley Trevino, a TikToker who became known as a self-proclaimed “inmate hopper.” More attention turned to her as people questioned her decisions as a mother, her problematic takes, and her hanging around minors despite knowing their ages. Despite all the hate people claim to have, she is sitting at over 250k followers on TikTok, and just searching up her name leads to tons of videos about Trevino, made by other users. It raises the discussion of why people continue to bring attention her way and use her name to get views despite seeing her as a bad person.
The evolution of lolcows.
The term dates back to the days of 4Chan, a social platform launched in 2003 with the purpose of posting images anonymously relating to various topics. Seeing as its purpose was to give people the freedom to share whatever they wish, anonymously, it was just the place to spark the phenomenon.
A former blogger and content creator that goes by the name of Christine Chan is deemed one of the first targeted lolcows on the internet. Due to the content she created about comics, art, and some controversial YouTube videos she posted, she was attacked by many online users. She ended up being convicted of incest in 2021, giving users more of a reason to continue their attacks. Since then, many creators have taken the throne as lolcows on TikTok, with just some of them being Daniel Larson, Shawty Bae, and recently, Ashley Trevino.
In some cases, these creators have been able to reach high levels of fame and success, Trevino being an example, as she has claimed to make up to $10k after two hours on TikTok live. Due to many lolcows being chosen after acting in ways users deem wrong or embarrassing, many people take it as far as leaking addresses and private information just to show their dislike for them.
For creators that people claim to hate or find “cringe,” why do they continue to stay relevant and have their content do numbers?
The psychology behind lolcows.
While not every lolcow is targeted for the same reason, it is often between two common reasons: they have acted in ways the internet sees as morally incorrect, or they are neurodivergent. This refers to someone whose brain has developed and works in a different way than a neurotypical person, giving them different strengths or challenges depending on their diagnosis.
When it comes to the case of the lolcow having done something wrong, many internet users see their online harassment as justifiable, and that all they’re doing is exposing a bad person. As they carry on making hateful comments and posts, leaking information, and more, they get a sick satisfaction from watching the creator’s life get ruined through a screen. In the cases of lolcows admitting to immoral acts or even crimes, the internet would rather bask in their downfall than take away their platform and allow them to have any sort of influence. This is because the point isn’t actually to hold these people accountable, but rather to find a sense of community with others that are all laughing at one target.
In the event that the target hasn’t done anything wrong and is just neurodivergent, the lolcow community just finds it entertaining to pick fun at vulnerability and push someone over the edge. The perpetrators see the person as the perfect target due to their own false perception of neurodivergence. Not only does the user have the ability to hide their identity behind a screen, but they can mess with the victim as much as they want without it affecting their life in any shape or form.
How the lolcow phenomenon is hurting society.
The attention given to lolcows feeds into the parasocial phenomenon that has risen with the internet, giving people the idea that they have the right to know about every aspect of a creator’s life. In this case, users want to see the lolcow’s downfall, putting out any hate possible to get some sort of reaction out of them.
Having this form of obsession over a creator is no better than cyberbullying and only continues to create an environment online where making fun of others is the best source of entertainment. It also continues to normalize ableism in our society, creating harmful stereotypes about neurodivergent people that are usually the victims of this phenomenon. While the internet can be a great outlet for people to spread awareness of immoral actions, giving the wrong people platforms for the wrong reasons will only continue the cycle of harm being done.