Troll Psychology: A discussion on ‘internet bullying’

Many times we think bullying occurs with persons we may know such as coworkers, friends, neighbours, etc.

Reality is it does NOT. I found this article very interesting and wonder how many of us have experienced this type of bullying. Reading the article, I can certainly say I did.

An interesting suggestion was put forward to me on Yahoo answers the other day by ‘Patricia’ who said that I should write an article about internet bullying and more specifically why the internet bullies; or trolls are compelled to purposely to post inflammatory comments on websites in the first place. Please be warned that this article does contain some strong language, if you are easily offended please do not read any

http://daily-grind.net/troll-psychology-an-insight-into-internet-bullying/

I personally think everyone who has ever been on the internet and socialized in any way has encountered a "troll".

It is sad and we will probably never really know the "why" of it. Being allowed to be anonymous tends to let the worst in people out. Always has, always will!

Another article from PC World

Internet Trolls: The Psychology Behind the Rants

Dr. David Solly at University of the Rockies, a graduate school specializing in social and behavioral sciences, says complaining -- be it on the Web or alone in front of a mirror -- releases stress and makes the grumbler feel physically better. And the Internet, with its endless assortment of social forums, gives consumers "the capability of voicing their opinions with grandeur on a global scale."

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http://www.pcworld.com/article/242526/internet_trolls_the_psychology_behind_the_rants.html

I have facebook and twitter but only so I can be nosy...hehe

When I am really stressed and want to start complaining I always grab a notebook and write it all down. It usually makes no sense and too many run on sentences but it makes me feel better. After writing all my complaints out, I tear it out of the notebook and throw it away.

Mind you I wasn't always this way. I used to complain all the time, mainly to my husband. One day, about 3 years ago I noticed myself doing it which I had never noticed before. I thought to myself, good grief if I'm hearing myself do this he definitely does. Which of course he did. I felt so bad about it that I had to figure out another way to deal with it.

Not that I still don't complain now and again about certain things, but I don't complain about every last little thing like I used to.

I know that got a little off topic, sorry about that!

Internet trolls can’t help themselves
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/01/online_comments_are_toxic_salpart/

“Most people who troll are people who are just like you and me, but just a bit more intense,” says Olivier Morin, a cultural anthropologist who has written about trolling.

One website breaks trolls into categories: the hater, the moral crusader, the debunker, the defender. But trolls might not retain those qualities in real life. It’s just that the Internet’s anonymity makes it impossible for them to resist spewing vitriol from the protective cave of cyberspace. Psychologists call it the “disinhibition effect,” in which “the frequency of self-interested unethical behavior increases among anonymous people.” Non-academics refer to it as “John Gabriel’s Greater Internet F-wad Theory”: the combination of anonymity and an audience brings out the absolute worst in people.

I don't see how most internet trolling can be compared to bullying. Not everything annoying is bullying.

Trolls don't typically bully individuals, they just trigger the group go off topic or become enraged and often trigger the group to BULLY the troll. I have met quite a few very funny internet trolls as well, if people don't take themselves (or their group mindset) they will see what the troll is doing and find it amusing.

I totally agree with Sonya. I really don't see how an anonymous persona attacking another anonymous persona through a technical device that can very easily be turned off compares to bullying in person in a venue like a school where a child literally can not legally flee.

Although, I have seen people believe they are being mercilessly bullied online. I was on a dog training website once, (had some real dog issues at the time) and there was a girl there who had a very public dog issue (sorry, trying to stay anonymous here, you can still trace this woman to her real live and breathe address and name online) and she would come to that board every night and they would bully her. And the next night she'd be there again, crying, saying they don't understand her, and they were SO CRUEL.

This went on for at least a year. Literally. I've seen other things kind of similar, not that bizarre, online with people who perceive they're being bullied against their will.

I don't understand it. Turn the dang thing off. Almost always, NO ONE on that site knows who you are, there's no reason to return and subject yourself to it!

It's funny though how trolls don't think they are being trolls. One gossip site I've gone to has grown women sitting around all day making fun of celebrities children. Making fun of 5 year olds. They think it's funny. If you point out how wrong this is they go insane and gang up on the poster and try to bully them off the site. Yet they seriously think they are the good guys and the others are the trolls.

I agree Chewy, and have to add that internet forums can become so entrenched with the regulars and so very polarized that it's actually comical. I needed advice on cage bedding for new pet mice - because mice stink - and ran afoul of some very very VERY passionate rodent owners who screamed troll at me for asking if there was anything better at controlling odor than cedar wood shavings. Haha. Apparently, people have very passionate feelings about rodent cage bedding, and I wasn't able to convince anyone I wasn't a troll trying to start a board war.

So ya never know. ;D

Trolling and bullying on discussion sites is out of control. It's disruptive and hurtful In so many ways.

This is why Websleuths has such tight rules. If we want to have mature discussions about crime we have to have strict rules AND constant moderation. If we don't the trolls get in and start up.

It's too bad we have to do it this way but it is the only way to make it work.

What gets me is these jerks would NEVER post their hateful lies if they had to use their real names. This just proves that trolls are cowards. They hide behind their keyboards.







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This may be an urban legend but I think one of the first lawsuits over fighting and name calling happened on a forum discussing how to make soap.

How to make soap. These bullies couldn't stop themselves on a forum about soap because they felt they had power. The power of hiding behind their keyboard and saying what they wanted without showing the world who they really are.







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There is a LOT of trolls and bullying on Twitter! Everything from teen issues to criminals! It can be real dirty bird kind of nest :giggle:

Tricia said:

This may be an urban legend but I think one of the first lawsuits over fighting and name calling happened on a forum discussing how to make soap.

How to make soap. These bullies couldn't stop themselves on a forum about soap because they felt they had power. The power of hiding behind their keyboard and saying what they wanted without showing the world who they really are.







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If true, that is really pathetic. I mean why troll a soap making forum? :crazy:

christee said:

There is a LOT of trolls and bullying on Twitter! Everything from teen issues to criminals! It can be real dirty bird kind of nest :giggle:

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Those news sites are bad as well.

JeannaT said:

I was on a dog training website once, (had some real dog issues at the time) and there was a girl there who had a very public dog issue (sorry, trying to stay anonymous here, you can still trace this woman to her real live and breathe address and name online) and she would come to that board every night and they would bully her. And the next night she'd be there again, crying, saying they don't understand her, and they were SO CRUEL.

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Haha...yeah dog training sites often are often quite brutal. They frequently have a "pack" mentality and assume anyone new to their forum is stupid and needs to be ridiculed (as if that helps the dog any). Add the fact that many hard core dog people don't like humans that much (myself included) and they often aren't the warmest, fuzziest folks around.

In cases like the one you described it is sometimes hard to tell whether the person being victimized is a troll, or whether they are serious. If she hung around for a year she probably was serious and had some mental problems.

Most trolls aren't bullys though. The word "trolling" means throwing bait in the water to see what it attracts, not targeting individuals for harassment. When people start hunting each other down and making real life threats that isn't trolling, that is harassment, and it can sometimes violate the law.

Any site where people hold tightly to a set group of beliefs and get easily upset, or even enraged, when others deviate from those beliefs is ripe for trolling. I can see why WS has to be strict as this site would fertile ground in that respect; lots of emotion and very strong belief systems in place.

Sonya610 said:

Haha...yeah dog training sites often are often quite brutal. They frequently have a "pack" mentality and assume anyone new to their forum is stupid and needs to be ridiculed (as if that helps the dog any). Add the fact that many hard core dog people don't like humans that much (myself included) and they often aren't the warmest, fuzziest folks around.

In cases like the one you described it is sometimes hard to tell whether the person being victimized is a troll, or whether they are serious. If she hung around for a year she probably was serious and had some mental problems.

Most trolls aren't bullys though. The word "trolling" means throwing bait in the water to see what it attracts, not targeting individuals for harassment. When people start hunting each other down and making real life threats that isn't trolling, that is harassment, and it can sometimes violate the law.

Any site where people hold tightly to a set group of beliefs and get easily upset, or even enraged, when others deviate from those beliefs is ripe for trolling. I can see why WS has to be strict as this site would fertile ground in that respect; lots of emotion and very strong belief systems in place.

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I agree completely. Trolls usually post something that they know will set off a lot of people (best if it sets off both sides of an issue), and then sits back and watches the fight. There are times when an internet bully may also troll, but it's not that common. It does seem to be that they do tend to choose issues that "bullies" will disagree with a lot of times; I'm guessing it's so that potential "victims" will actually participate in the discussion by starting out just saying that they agree with the troll. I tend to think of them as more passive-aggressive than bullies. It's not all that uncommon for them to also pretend to play "peacemaker", and then start things back up when it starts to calm down.

Bullies are more likely to pick one target, or maybe a few, and aim attacks directly. Sometimes it may be because they dislike the person, but it often seems to just be that they've found someone who is easily upset. Ironically, I think trolls are usually much more aware of what they're doing and willing to admit it than bullies are. I'm not sure if it's because they aren't aware of what they write (how it comes across to others) or if they just have a different definition of the word bully, or it could just be that they really do know they do it but don't want to admit it.

I think it's more common on the internet than in real life mainly because it's more obvious in real life. If someone just responds negatively to all of your posts on line, it's easy enough to just say that it's nothing personal - you just disagree on everything. If someone were to follow you around physically and argue with everything you said, they'd probably be charged with stalking. MOO

Cyber bullying is very real and IMO it starts off as trolling and escalates from there.

~n/t~ said:

Cyber bullying is very real and IMO it starts off as trolling and escalates from there.

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I think it's more common than a lot of people think partially because I don't think most cyber bullies believe they're bullies. There are many times that complaints of bullying remind me of an old joke; Mom comes in and finds the kids fighting, she asks, "Okay, who started it?" and the younger one says, "He did, he hit me back!"

Unfortunately, what usually happens in cases like that here (meaning on the internet, not necessarily WS) is that someone else will make a comment and they'll both turn on the third person. I often think it's just to try to save face because they know the other bully won't back down. I don't always succeed, but I usually try to either stay out of those things completely or just report them and let the mods deal with it.

A most interesting thread topic since I just witnessed this happening recently!

~n/t~ said:

Cyber bullying is very real and IMO it starts off as trolling and escalates from there.

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I have been online for 15 years and been involved in plenty of arguments and met my share of unpleasant people however I don't EVER recall seeing anyone truly bullied. I have seen people PICKED ON for quite a while because they are stupid and keep begging for more but never bullied.

I can see high school kids that know each other in REAL LIFE bullying each other on face book but honestly I don't quite see how that happens with adults.

I assume "bullying" does not refer to someone stalking another and digging up R/L info but tht others are "mean" to someone.

How does that happen with adults? Why don't they just ignore (possible on most forums and chats) the offending personas or leave the forum/chat/whatever?

Sonya610 said:

I have been online for 15 years and been involved in plenty of arguments and met my share of unpleasant people however I don't EVER recall seeing anyone truly bullied. I have seen people PICKED ON for quite a while because they are stupid and keep begging for more but never bullied.

I can see high school kids that know each other in REAL LIFE bullying each other on face book but honestly I don't quite see how that happens with adults.

I assume "bullying" does not refer to someone stalking another and digging up R/L info but tht others are "mean" to someone.

How does that happen with adults? Why don't they just ignore (possible on most forums and chats) the offending personas or leave the forum/chat/whatever?

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That's exactly how it happens.