I was real curious. Why do trolls troll??? So i googled it. I found a interesting study from The Australia Institute. I thought they must suffer from terrible self esteem right??? Apparently the opposite.
It says
And goes on to talk about an "empathy deficit" which makes a lot of sense....
Huh.
So how DO we respond???
It says
Results showed that gender, psychopathy, and sadism were all significant independent predictors of malevolent trolling. That is, if you are male, have high psychopathy, or high sadism, you are more likely to troll.
The most powerful predictor of trolling was sadism. The more someone enjoys hurting others, the more likely it is they will troll.
And goes on to talk about an "empathy deficit" which makes a lot of sense....
These results have important implications for how we manage and respond to trolling.
First, based on the results of psychopathy and sadism, we understand the internet troll as someone who is callous, lacks a sense of personal responsibility and enjoys causing others harm.
The significance of psychopathy in the results also indicates trolls have an empathy deficit, particularly when it comes to their ability to experience and internalise other people’s emotions.
On top of this, the interaction between high sadism and high self-esteem suggests trolls are not trolling because they have low self-worth. In fact, this is quite the opposite. The more someone enjoys hurting others and the better they feel about themselves, the more likely they are to troll.
Huh.
So how DO we respond???
Previous research has found showing the troll they have upset you may only reinforce their behaviour.
It appears the popular refrain is correct: don’t feed the trolls and give them the hurt or angry response they are looking for.
This does not mean we should just ignore this behaviour. People who commit this type of cyber abuse should still be held accountable for their actions.
I propose we change the narrative. Trolls are not to be feared — their power lies in the reactions they cause.
One way we can start is to become active bystanders. Bystanders are those who witness the trolling. Active bystanders intervene and say “this is not okay”.
Don’t fight fire with fire. Respond with outward indifference and strict no tolerance. Let’s work together to dismantle the power of the troll and take back the internet from their influence.