Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

[FlossyMay]

Twitter is basically constant status updates. Not really my cup of tea. I'm not a huge fan of Facebook either, to be honest, but I do use it to keep in touch with my family and friends that live in other parts of the country. I make sure I never add strangers to my friend list...only people I have met in real life.

 

[bluesneakers]

Catfish: Trolls: MTV Show Brings Victims Face-to-Face with Their Trolls

“Catfish: Trolls” comes at a time when online trolling is on the rise and continues to be an issue confronting young people. Trolls dominate social feeds and drum up viral storms. Throughout the episodes, viewers will meet Cameron, who’s long awaited confrontation with his aggressor becomes explosive; Ciera, who’s life completely changed when someone stole her selfies and created an offensive meme that went viral; and Meike, who has been trolled by someone for six years. Tempers will flare as Charlamagne and Raymond bring these subjects together to provide an open forum and help them find closure.
​

'Catfish: Trolls' Host Raymond Braun's 9 Rules for Dealing With Bullies on Social Media

“Going in, I basically thought that by the end of each episode, the trolls would agree to stop trolling. That didn’t happen,” the star explains to Billboard. But that didn’t stop him from being optimistic about the future of Internet culture. “I want to see the good in people, so I do believe it’s possible to have an Internet in the future with a lot less trolling. I think we need to fundamentally shift how we react and respond and retweet and upvote content online.”​

 

[LaborDayRN]

I've always thought of trolls as those who say deliberate things to hurt people in the online world. A troll may make a handful of troubling statements and than disappear. (maybe a bored teen trying to stir up trouble). Sometimes the troll becomes relentless. I've always thought in those cases it was no longer trolling, but had escalated to full blown harassment. I think a troll and a harasser may be too different types of people with different agendas.

 

[bluesneakers]

I've always thought of trolls as those who say deliberate things to hurt people in the online world. A troll may make a handful of troubling statements and than disappear. (maybe a bored teen trying to stir up trouble). Sometimes the troll becomes relentless. I've always thought in those cases it was no longer trolling, but had escalated to full blown harassment. I think a troll and a harasser may be too different types of people with different agendas.

I agree they can be different, or the same. For instance it might be one person using two different methods to harass someone - someone trolls on SM, or trolls a forum in an attempt to harass a specific user or group of users. Bullying is wrapped up in there too.

 

[glamourkitty1922]

You also have trolls who follow one from thread to thread in a forum because they don't like the idea you disagree with them, they twist your posts, they search for reasons to be offended. I think trolls are specific to the internet. I don't think there is any way to get rid of trolls. Just never ever give out any personal information on the web.

 

[bluesneakers]

You also have trolls who follow one from thread to thread in a forum because they don't like the idea you disagree with them, they twist your posts, they search for reasons to be offended. I think trolls are specific to the internet. I don't think there is any way to get rid of trolls. Just never ever give out any personal information on the web.

If you have a problem with a troll on this site I would suggest contacting a moderator. I had an issue and Tricia and the other moderators were a big help. There is no reason anyone on this site should have to put up with being harassed, bullied, or doxxed.

Good luck.

 

[glamourkitty1922]

If you have a problem with a troll on this site I would suggest contacting a moderator. I had an issue and Tricia and the other moderators were a big help. There is no reason anyone on this site should have to put up with being harassed, bullied, or doxxed.

Good luck.

Thank you, but it's pretty much stopped. I chalk it up to people being very passionate about what they're talking about and deciding I am an enemy. I have to admit that it does hurt one's feelings.

 

[matou]

Wish I had the same help for trolls on here.

 

[neesaki]

How do you know which is a bot and which is a human?

I’m curious about this as well.

 

[bluesneakers]

The problem hasn't completely cleared up for me. There are still a few issues because some people can't give up. Posting on a board like this there are bound to be disagreements, which as GlamourKitty said is not the same thing as trolling, so yeah, other than giving timeouts for arguing there's not much the mods here can do about that.

Now, harassment, spreading lies, doxxing, making threats, stalking, etc., IS trolling and bullying. I don't believe the mods here would ever be okay with that sort of behavior. At least in my experience. YMMV.

 

[bluesneakers]

Thank you, but it's pretty much stopped. I chalk it up to people being very passionate about what they're talking about and deciding I am an enemy. I have to admit that it does hurt one's feelings.

It does. It can also be confusing, and scary.

Another thing I've noticed here is it can be so difficult to read tone in someone else's posts. I notice the more I try to be impersonal the more often I'm misunderstood. And I know I misread others all the time. Factual seems cold, funny seems flippant, etc. The smilies we used to have were a huge help.

 

[thecatmeows]

IMO, there's a difference between trolling and bullying.

Trolls join sites strictly to get a reaction from the users. Trolling is not specified at a single user but a group. Trolls are usually lonely teenagers, IMO - I used to troll when I was a teenager, which I'm not proud to admit. Trolls think they're funny, and they're doing everything for LOLs. We had a chat group when I was in high school to "discuss" our trolling endeavors.

Bullies single out a specific person. It's very personal; it involves name-calling and personal attacks. It often leads to cyber stalking and harassment. I was cyber bullied a few years ago, but fortunately it ended when I stopped interacting with the bully (or bullies - they were using anonymous names, so I don't know if it was one or more people).

 

[bluesneakers]

IMO, there's a difference between trolling and bullying.

Trolls join sites strictly to get a reaction from the users. Trolling is not specified at a single user but a group. Trolls are usually lonely teenagers, IMO - I used to troll when I was a teenager, which I'm not proud to admit. Trolls think they're funny, and they're doing everything for LOLs. We had a chat group when I was in high school to "discuss" our trolling endeavors.

Bullies single out a specific person. It's very personal; it involves name-calling and personal attacks. It often leads to cyber stalking and harassment. I was cyber bullied a few years ago, but fortunately it ended when I stopped interacting with the bully (or bullies - they were using anonymous names, so I don't know if it was one or more people).

I agree there's a difference, but sometimes they cross over. Most might be lonely teenagers, but I've seen adults on FB trolling different communities and commenting on individuals' public posts. (Not including Russian bots which is an entirely different kind of trolling.)

BBM This once happened to me, but my lack of reaction didn't change a thing. I think they fed off each other, and maybe one of them pretended to be me to antagonize the others. Anyway, I'm glad it worked for you. My other experience with a bully was an obsessed jealous woman who dropped everything when my ex broke up with her. I did not interact with her but she internet stalked me and would not quit.

 

[DisturbedConcerned]

Here, have one then!

type colon
then dash
then closing parenthesis like this with no spaces : - )

The smilies we used to have were a huge help.

 

[WyomingSkyAngel]

I was bullied/stalked online for several months. Comically (and not surprisingly) the people doing it stopped when they lost Internet access AND realized I was too busy to pay attention to their attempts to contact.

This issue should be taken seriously by victims- one of my old friends is probably still stalked by her ex, who is considered mentally ill so the burden is on my friend to look out for herself. (It is unfair but there's no way to Nanny her ex into behaving unless he is locked up in a facility. Cross your fingers, it may happen.)

 

[bluesneakers]

Three Internet Trolls Convicted of Systematic Defamation Against Journalist in Finland

This week, the journalist, Jessika Aro, got a measure of satisfaction when a court in Helsinki convicted two of her most dedicated slanderers of defamation and handed them unusually harsh sentences.

Ilja Janitskin, a Finn of Russian descent who ran MV-Lehti, a vituperative website that rails against Russia’s critics, immigrants, Jews and the European Union, was sentenced to 22 months in jail after being convicted on 16 criminal counts related to his website.

Johan Backman, a self-declared “human rights defender” who spends much of his time in Russia and has acquired a reputation as a strident defender of Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, received a one-year, suspended jail sentence for aggravated defamation and stalking.

A third defendant, a Finnish woman who worked on Mr. Janitskin’s incendiary website, was also given a suspended sentence.

Together, they were ordered to pay damages totaling around $155,000, plus legal costs.

The verdict, delivered on Thursday by the Helsinki District Court, was the first time that a European country had taken action against pro-Russian disinformation spread through social media, websites and news outlets controlled by or linked to Russia.

 

[bluesneakers]

Internet trolls found guilty of cyber bullying could face five years in jail thanks to new NSW crackdown

The suicide of an Australian teenager who was relentlessly bullied online has inspired new law changes to be implemented in New South Wales to combat cyberbullying and online trolls.

Fourteen-year-old Dolly Everett took her life earlier this year after being abused online, prompting NSW police to propose amendments to the law which could allow them to seek apprehended violence orders in response to serious online abuse.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says technology gives people access to harassing others whenever they like using computers and smartphones.

 

[bluesneakers]

When A Stranger Decides to Destroy Your Life

But in September 2015, she was suddenly plunged into an American nightmare. She got a call at 6 a.m. one morning from a colleague at Re/Max telling her something terrible had been posted about her on the Re/Max Facebook page. Glennon thought at first she meant that a client had left her a bad review, but it turned out to be much worse than that.
...
Glennon was horrified. The story was completely fabricated and she had no idea why someone would have written it. Someone on Facebook named Ryan Baxter had posted it to the Re/Max page; Baxter also went through Glennon’s Facebook friend list and sent it to her husband, family members, and many of her professional contacts.
...
“I was looking at every person in my life and every stranger and wondering who did it to me and why,” Glennon told me by phone. “It makes you rethink every relationship in your life.”

Eventually, after $100,000 in attorney’s bills, Glennon was able to unmask the culprit. It turned out to be a complete stranger who had been offended by a comment Glennon had made about a news article on Facebook.

- Much more at the link.

 

[neesaki]

Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

‘Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.’

Jennifer Golbeck Ph.D.
Your Online Secrets
Internet
Psychology Today
Posted Sep 18, 2014

‘The next time you encounter a troll online, remember:

1. These trolls are some truly difficult people.
2. It is your suffering that brings them pleasure, so the best thing you can do is ignore them.’

I'm glad I finally read it, I was already having questions about what a "troll" was . Now I know, they are sadists, those who enjoy bringing about discomfort in various ways to others. So, they are there basically to just try to destroy any possible good that is going on. They are undoubtedly narcissists and possibly psychopaths as well, probably a mixture.

This reminds me of my husband's ex wife, it wasn't online, this was in real life. She was my first experience with a narcissistic personality disorder, possibly a sociopath as well. No, I haven't diagnosed her, lol. But I have a nursing and a psychology back ground, and way too much exposure to her. She had those blank, dead eyes, and was so delusional. As in, she worked as a hotel manager, nothing special, yet she claimed she was eminent, she actually believed she was a god of some sort.
Then later she stalked us to the point that she was being a peeping Tom through our windows at all hours of the night. Creepy, creepy. We called the law, then she was not there. It was seriously like one of those creepy Lifetime movies.

Our solution, move to a secured gated community to protect ourselves from her. That's all we could do.

 

[bluesneakers]

@neesaki Did you ever read the book or see the movie Rebecca? My ex’s wife went after me online (impersonating me sometimes!) and reading that book gave me a clue to her psyche.