4 ms·

Why People Become Internet Trolls

15 points by rchaudhary 6y ago

greesil 6y ago
For the lulz? Less idiomatically, to relieve boredom with no consideration that their victims are real people.
- happytoexplain 6y ago
  I feel like this used to account for nearly all trolling, whereas now a significant portion of it crosses over into an expression of hatred, if the troll perceives the target to be of an opposing ideological group.
keyle 6y ago
Site overwhelmed, cache here https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DwqAFQJS05QJ:https://dradambell.com/why-people-become-internet-trolls/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DwqAFQ... Great read!
cercatrova 6y ago
Because it's fun? That's the main reason I can see.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
Svperstar 6y ago
When I was 14 and got online I liked trolling websites that I knew had older userbases. Like one time I had a 50 year old man reacting to my troll posts it was hilarious to see
umvi 6y ago
Trolling has existed long before the internet. Prank phone calls, ding dong ditch, antagonizing your younger siblings... there's a certain satisfaction with experiencing the fruits of your virtually consequence-free social manipulation efforts. It makes you think "wow, with just words I was able to rile someone up into conniptions" while simultaneously thinking "how are these people taking this so seriously? I am able to keep my cool on the internet"
- happytoexplain 6y ago
  >wow, with just words I was able to rile someone up into conniptions Your description of the mindset is accurate. What's interesting to me is how common it is, considering how irrational it is. Scoffing at the emotional result of "just words" is like scoffing at the physical result of "just bombs". At its root, it's usually a hypocritical expression along the lines of "people are too sensitive", but also, "I want to provoke people as much as possible".
WheelsAtLarge 6y ago
One that was not emphasized enough is that people have learned that you can get a lot of attention by being a troll. You speak out without regards to other people and you'll get people to follow you just because you are saying what other wished they could say. A lot of internet influencers have created a career by doing that. The article is right, Empathy deficit, is definitely a cause. I know that for many people it is hard to understand that there is a human with feelings on the other side of the internet. Having a real picture of the other person would solve a small bit of that. But ultimately the only thing that would help would be to figure out how to get users to get to know each other better.
Simulacra 6y ago
I always thought people became trolls for the passive aggressive power. It's like telling a manager an employee did something really bad when all they did was tell you that you couldn't do/say/whatever something. It's a weird sort of fetish.
RickJWagner 6y ago
Because some people are just juvenile, and are a little broken inside. It's not complicated.
sleepysysadmin 6y ago
"Trolling" has very little to do with Sadism, psychopathy, narcissism, or machiavellianism. An troll has there priorities, they target a certain group of people just to get a rise out of them.

15 points by rchaudhary 6y ago

greesil 6y ago

For the lulz? Less idiomatically, to relieve boredom with no consideration that their victims are real people.

happytoexplain 6y ago
I feel like this used to account for nearly all trolling, whereas now a significant portion of it crosses over into an expression of hatred, if the troll perceives the target to be of an opposing ideological group.

keyle 6y ago

Site overwhelmed, cache here https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DwqAFQJS05QJ:https://dradambell.com/why-people-become-internet-trolls/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=au https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:DwqAFQ... Great read!

cercatrova 6y ago

Because it's fun? That's the main reason I can see.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

Svperstar 6y ago

When I was 14 and got online I liked trolling websites that I knew had older userbases. Like one time I had a 50 year old man reacting to my troll posts it was hilarious to see

umvi 6y ago

Trolling has existed long before the internet. Prank phone calls, ding dong ditch, antagonizing your younger siblings... there's a certain satisfaction with experiencing the fruits of your virtually consequence-free social manipulation efforts. It makes you think "wow, with just words I was able to rile someone up into conniptions" while simultaneously thinking "how are these people taking this so seriously? I am able to keep my cool on the internet"

happytoexplain 6y ago
>wow, with just words I was able to rile someone up into conniptions Your description of the mindset is accurate. What's interesting to me is how common it is, considering how irrational it is. Scoffing at the emotional result of "just words" is like scoffing at the physical result of "just bombs". At its root, it's usually a hypocritical expression along the lines of "people are too sensitive", but also, "I want to provoke people as much as possible".

WheelsAtLarge 6y ago

One that was not emphasized enough is that people have learned that you can get a lot of attention by being a troll. You speak out without regards to other people and you'll get people to follow you just because you are saying what other wished they could say. A lot of internet influencers have created a career by doing that. The article is right, Empathy deficit, is definitely a cause. I know that for many people it is hard to understand that there is a human with feelings on the other side of the internet. Having a real picture of the other person would solve a small bit of that. But ultimately the only thing that would help would be to figure out how to get users to get to know each other better.

Simulacra 6y ago

I always thought people became trolls for the passive aggressive power. It's like telling a manager an employee did something really bad when all they did was tell you that you couldn't do/say/whatever something. It's a weird sort of fetish.

RickJWagner 6y ago

Because some people are just juvenile, and are a little broken inside. It's not complicated.

sleepysysadmin 6y ago

"Trolling" has very little to do with Sadism, psychopathy, narcissism, or machiavellianism. An troll has there priorities, they target a certain group of people just to get a rise out of them.