If you were on Twitter and had not uploaded a profile picture of your own, the characteristic egg image would have been the default image for your handle. However, now that generic oval egg avatar – the symbol for what will presumably hatch into one's Twitter bird – has been replaced. Apparently this has been done to discourage trolling. So how would replacing the egg with the ‘gender balanced figure’ counter trolling? And how are the Tweeple reacting?
Over time, the egg avatar had become associated with online abuse, trolling, hate speech and similar negativity. It was seen that trolls with multiple handles, anonymous posters and stalkers, who did not want to reveal their identity would not personalise their account and hide their identity behind the ubiquitous egg logo.
In a statement issued by Twitter, it was noted that there was a behaviour pattern with the egg profile pictures. Many of these accounts were created only for harassing others and such users would typically not take the time to personalise those accounts. “This has created an association between the default egg profile photo and negative behavior, which isn't fair to people who are still new to Twitter and haven't yet personalized their profile photo," Twitter’s blog post was quoted as having said.
The egg had been in place for several years and many did not like the fact that the avatar is now history.
Clearly it does not contain or curb trolling. The reaction of Twitter users to this change was fairly derisive. “Twitter’s answer to complaints of abuse on the platform is to ditch having an egg as the default photo ??? *slow clap*” said one tweet.
…That Twitter does very little to actually crack down on online abuse and the vicious trolling that continues on its platform. According to one Twitter user “Evil now has a new face”; this was with reference to the replacement of the default avatar. And in fact this change will do absolutely nothing to deter hate speech, abuse and trolling, because there is still no requirement to upload a picture or to personalise an account in any way. Users can still be anonymous; the only difference being that they will now be anonymous androgynous human like figures instead of anonymous eggs.
It would seem so. The change being purely cosmetic, there is likely to be zero change in the way that people harass, threaten, troll and hate on Twitter. This is not an anti-harassment effort at all; argue users. It is merely Twitter’s lazy attempt at dissociating its icon from the ever present abuse on its own platform.
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