We all know this kind of character: sitting behind a screen at 3 a.m., and they just won’t settle down. They leave a caustic comment with few or no actual arguments, check if they’ve been answered, reply even more causticly, and so on ad infinitum. It seems they don’t even need coffee anymore—they are energized by pure indignation.
Why is it important to pay attention to this? Network trolls are not just bored thrill-seekers. In reality, these are people with a whole set of psychological “special effects.” Psychologists have long found that internet trolls often possess a whole bouquet of unpleasant traits: narcissism, psychopathy, and even sadism. Such a “commenter” usually has an overly inflated ego; they believe themselves to be absolutely right and smarter than everyone else. Trying to prove something to such a person is the same as explaining etiquette rules to a cat: you can try, but the result is predictable.
Such trolls couldn’t care less about the feelings of others, but they love infuriating people and watching them suffer. They are like emotional vampires who feed on your indignation. And the most interesting part is that they often develop a peculiar addiction. Every new comment, every reaction from the “victim,” is pure dopamine for them. The troll throws out the “bait” and waits for a reaction, like a fisherman at dawn. That explains why they literally live in the comments: their self-esteem and enjoyment of life directly depend on how many people they manage to anger today. Interestingly, according to research, narcissism is linked to social media addiction.
Their obsessive need to have the last word in an argument reaches the point of absurdity. Even if everyone has long since gone home, the troll will return and write one more comment. Because they must. Because they can. And the trolls’ main trump card is anonymity. While in real life one could easily lose friends and be ostracized, there are no consequences online. The troll is protected by a nickname, an avatar, and the ability to create a few dozen more fake accounts. They are like James Bond in the world of forums: no one knows their face, and they always return.
Why do some people engage in endless trolling? There are many options. For example, such people usually have little power in their real lives. However, in the comments, they can feel like Napoleon—even if their “empire” is limited to a couple of discussions on Telegram. For some, trolling is like an extreme sport; they are simply bored living without drama. And sometimes, personal grudges are the cause. If the neighbors didn’t let them sleep peacefully, now they won’t let the entire internet sleep peacefully.
An interesting nuance: many trolls mask their behavior as freedom of speech. They love to say, “I’m just expressing my opinion!” But there is a huge chasm between constructive criticism and aggressive trolling. Freedom of speech is the right to express one’s opinion, not the right to boundlessly insult and humiliate others within their own communities. Trolls who hide behind liberal/libertarian ideas actually discredit the very essence of freedom of speech and only contribute to increased censorship and control. The irony is that their behavior only brings them closer to what they supposedly fight so fiercely against.
So what can be done about this? Resource owners and administrators should be tougher on their private territory. A troll who tries to infuriate and insult others is best sent to “read-only” mode—let them observe adequate communication from the sidelines. Sometimes this is the only way to restore a healthy atmosphere in the comments and let others know that rules of decency exist even online.
And the main piece of advice for ordinary users: don’t feed the trolls. Your reaction is vital to them. The best punishment for a troll is being ignored. A troll without attention is like a rock star without an audience: sad and meaningless. And remember: on the other side of the screen, there is most often an unhappy and insecure person! This doesn’t excuse them, but it explains it. Sometimes it’s enough to just remember this to stay calmer in the face of such provocations.
