Trolling — What exactly goes into it?

After discussing the Online Disinhibition Effect, I started thinking about the sheer amount of trolls that roam online. These individuals tend to get joy from unnecessarily making people upset online. According to the Urban Dictionary’s top rated definition for “trolling,” it can be defined as:

“Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent bystander, because it’s the internet and, hey, you can.”

The internet troll is a modern version of the mythological troll — an ugly, dirty, angry creature that lives in dark places, like caves or underneath bridges, waiting to snatch up anything that passed by for a quick meal. An internet troll pretty much does the same thing, sitting behind the computer screen and go out of their way to cause trouble and get people upset. What really interests me is how people could get “a high” out of making other people miserable online, especially when probably these people do not even know each other. The following are 8 reasons why certain individuals think it’s ok to be a troll:

1. Anonymity — As previously discussed, some might think that being anonymous means saying anything online has no consequences. Sites where only a user handle is required tend to have more trolls when compared to social media sites which associate a real-world identity with an online one. Reddit and 4chan, for example, have much more trolls when compared to Facebook and Instagram.
2. Perceived obscurity — People commenting online, even using their own real-world identity, think that when commenting on something online, people in real-life won’t even notice so there’s no harm in it. Maybe John likes to post anger towards muslims on “iNewsMalta”, but won’t dare doing that on “Times of Malta” given that more people can potentially see his comments.
3. Perceived majority status — The spiral of silence theory suggests that when people think they are in the majority in a certain setting, they will more freely express their opinion than those who see themselves as in the minority. John doesn’t talk about muslims offline as opposite to online, because on the web he thinks that his opinion is the popular one there.
4. Social identity salience — The social identity model of deindividuation effects, commonly referred to as the SIDE model, suggests that, online, social identity sometimes means more than our individual identity. John, being the most Labourite in the country, comments angrily towards all the Nationalists, calling them names and bullying them. This form of deindividuation, as discussed in my first post, can be seen as a “mob mentality” — people act as though they’re in a group and not individuals, therefore shifting into group conformity.
5. Surrounded by “friends” — On Social media sites like Facebook, people may think that this online space is full of their friends and becomes their network, making these individuals more comfortable to post anything they like knowing that these “friends” have their back. John might post about the Prime Minister’s heroic achievements in these past few years , assuming that the people around him agree with him and waiting for the likes on his post or comment to pile up. Although we may feel we are surrounded by people who agree with us, there actually may be many who disagree or find our comments hurtful, insulting, or offensive.
6. Desensitization — This is an interesting one: if we get accustomed to seeing insults left, right and centre on our Facebook feed, we may see them as no big deal. We may even just post without thinking ourselves, expressing our everyday frustrations with no filter. It is much easier to say mean things behind a computer or mobile screen than to say it to someone’s face.
7. Personality Traits — Some people think they are god’s gift to this green earth; some think they are morally superior to others while some may simply be more outspoken. All these different traits drive people to behave differently online, often posting without a filter given that they think that it’s no big deal or that they are better than others and their opinion is the “right” one. Personality traits such as self-righteousness and social dominance orientation — thinking that the group you belong to is better than others — are related to expressing intolerance. (Think about Għaqda Patrijotti Maltin)
8. Perceived lack of consequences — Social exchange theory suggests that we analyze the costs and benefits in our communication and relationships and therefore, anonymity suggest that you won’t be personally responsible for your actions. Personality traits and desensitization may making offending or losing friends not seem like a real consequence, because those friends aren’t really “worth it” if they can’t handle the “truth,” or they aren’t really friends if they don’t agree with or tolerate you.

The above video discussed online trolls in relation to sadism — pleasure gained from humiliating and hurting others — as a personality trait found in online trolls. In the majority, this behaviour carries into everyday life (even offline) and often called “Everyday Sadism”. The internet gives these trolls a platform to carry out their behaviour because it’s much easier than in real life while it can give anonymity which makes the troll feel invincible.

That’s it for now about trolls and trolling. Stay Tuned!

This blog is a project for Study Unit MCS3953, University of Malta