What Research Shows About Internet Trolls

You don’t have to respond to them, but it helps to understand them.

Beth Bradford, Ph.D.
ILLUMINATION
Published in
3 min readDec 31, 2021

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Photo by Stillness InMotion on Unsplash

Internet trolls — you can’t live with them, and you can’t spray them with Raid.

I typically don’t respond to internet trolls because that’s really what they want — to get an emotional reaction out of you. It’s one thing to disagree with someone, but internet trolls are only looking for their next sting. They feed on conflict rather than knowledge.

Recently I received a few comments for my response to someone else’s evidence-based article on COVID. I admired the research and graphs from the article, so I lauded the writer.

The trolls didn’t like it. They responded with various ad hominem attacks and pleas for me to address my cognitive dissonance. I had to laugh at the latter because I had written a paper on Festinger’s Theory of Cognitive Dissonance in graduate school. I heard echoes of Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word...”

Sure, my need to be right was aroused. I wanted to give them a dose of their vitriol, but that only shows that I was easy prey for their drama. Playing their game puts them in control, and no resolution would ever arrive until they “won.”

Instead, I sought to play my own game. I decided to understand them. That way, when I’m lured into their traps, I’m neither offended nor defeated.

And honestly, after reading some of the peer-reviewed research on the personality characteristics of internet trolls, I realized that they have enough problems of their own. They don’t need my snarky response. They need therapy.

Here are a few things that I learned:

They thrive on control

Internet trolls tend to exhibit social dominance, which is a personality trait associated with a preference for hierarchy and inequality. They believe their group is the right one, and they believe the “other” is wrong. Therefore, the “other” must be eradicated.

To help them feel more confident that they are better off than others, they tend to engage in downward social comparisons. This stems from Festinger’s “other” theory, social comparison theory. If an internet troll makes a…

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Beth Bradford, Ph.D.
ILLUMINATION

Former TV person, college professor and media researcher. Ironman triathlete, meditation teacher and yoga instructor. https://www.brad4d-wellness.com