Treat internet trolls like tennis balls and let them sail by, says Sarah Wilson

Former newspaper columnist and the founder of healthy living publisher I Quit Sugar, Sarah Wilson, has warned how the speed of technology in publishing is leading to a lack of “discerning thought” and accountability.

The media entrepreneur also advised young women columnists tackling controversial subjects not to waste energy on Internet trolls and to simply ignore their keyboard warrior detractors.

Wilson, a former Fairfax columnist, ex-editor of Cosmopolitan and the host of the first series of Masterchef, said she learned during her career to ignore criticisms that regularly flowed her way during her days as a left-leaning newspaper columnist.

But she acknowledged the rise of social media has made it easier for trolls to make their mark and, conversely, more difficult for young writers coming through.