Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sorry, couldn't think of a better title, but I'm interested in what the psychology is behind people who constantly hit discussion boards for the sole purpose of hurling insults at the other there.
I'm a Federal employee and often visit various websites focused on Federal issues, operations, employment, etc. And as anyone who has spent much time there knows, we have a dedicated set of, uh, "contributors" who do nothing but go into every thread and discussion to drop bombs and disrupt any discussion happening. These folks aren't the classic teen troll, but have been doing this for years, get banned, and just pop up under another fake id with more cut and paste of the same drivel.
What makes someone spend hours each day, for years, pasting the same insults into every discussion they can find? It's beyond trollish and seemingly psychotic.
I think some are genuinely unhappy, so they project their unhappiness unto others.
For instance, last week, I was on another discussion-centered platform, and another poster attacked me out of the blue. He was a new member and barely had any post history, so I assume he or she created a secondary account to troll. He absolutely berated me about my education and how I didn't make enough money, etc. I had never encountered this poster before and he didn't really know much about me either. So why he attacked me, in particular, was a bit perplexing. I could only imagine that he was an extremely unhappy individual trying to make himself feel better about his life and his choices. But who really knows...
On the other hand, I think some are genuinely bored, but not necessarily unhappy.
I think for some, it might be a sort of personal vendetta against someone they don't like. This American Life did a podcast episode a couple years back about this type of behavior. There had been a journalist who was relentlessly attacked by some troll on message boards and other places on the Internet. Ultimately, they ended up meeting a few years later, and the troll explained that he wasn't particularly happy in his life when he trolled her, and he didn't like that she was trying to be positive in her life. So he set out to make her feel as badly as he was feeling.
Truth be told, there may be a variety of different reasons why someone would troll. But I'm guessing a lot of it stems from unhappiness and boredom. Happy, productive people aren't wasting their precious time on earth trying to make others feel bad.
I am interested in this. Thanks for posting OP. I hope someone who used to be a troll will post an answer. But if the thread gets rude and horrible, I think the mods will close it down. So, please, if you post here, be polite. That's my request.
What kind of person gets satisfaction by using strangers on a forum as their personal punching bag? Bullying masochists. Mentally ill and demented people enjoy poking, baiting and saying prickly things just to provoke an argument. It's a game to them. Who would find that fun, except an abusive mentally ill person?
Creating drama and pot stirring is a hobby for these people, otherwise their existence is lonesome and miserable. My guess is they have gone through life burning one bridge after another until no one wants anything to do with them anymore ... so they go online and attack strangers. It's completely senseless. Even the most general, helpful threads are disrupted and hijacked when one of them launches personal attacks and snarls, though it makes no sense to the rest of us. They must be off their meds.
Normal people simply do not have that much seething anger and maliciousness bubbling under the surface. Generally, people join online sites like this, seeking information and wanting to be helpful, but deranged narcissists ruin the entire atmosphere. Normal people have normal relationships, friendships and kind interactions with other people, including strangers ... but many people here seem to be so accustomed to nasty and negative interactions that they treat strangers contemptably. They just can't seem to offer anything helpful or kind.
Going through life that way certainly makes them volatile and unstable, if not dangerous. Just think, if they are that aggressive to strangers online, what are they like in real life? You can find yourself in a very bad mood after spending just a bit of time here, and that says a lot about the "quality" of the people behind the screens. Psychotic is a perfect description.
Last edited by SouthernProper; 10-09-2017 at 05:08 PM..
I think for some, it might be a sort of personal vendetta against someone they don't like. This American Life did a podcast episode a couple years back about this type of behavior. There had been a journalist who was relentlessly attacked by some troll on message boards and other places on the Internet. Ultimately, they ended up meeting a few years later, and the troll explained that he wasn't particularly happy in his life when he trolled her, and he didn't like that she was trying to be positive in her life. So he set out to make her feel as badly as he was feeling.
This x100. People who are jealous and can't stand that other people are happy and successful. This one I suspect is often the case here.
I've noticed something on Facebook in particular in reference to the OPs question.
Every now and then, I will search for a news story on Facebook, because it allows you to read the "populist" reaction to the story. While this may not yield the most enlightened perspectives, it can be a fascinating sociological exercise to gauge public sentiment about a certain issue that is very localized.
And I do see a trend among the commenters that do seem to be trolling, or hateful, bigoted, or very angry and unforgiving over the most petty grievances. Their education tends to have a statement like "school of hard knocks" or "School of Life because book learnin' doesn't give you common sense", or something of that questionable nature. They also typically list very dubious employment and it's obvious they are unemployed or underemployed. And taking a quick peek at their photos, it's obvious their living conditions are poor, with junky yards, dirty houses and a pitbull tethered to a tree.
Not that everyone who has less than gainful employment or didn't get far in school is a troll, and some people who are very successful on the surface can be insufferable snots, but people who aren't doing so well in life are well represented in trolldom.
I've noticed something on Facebook in particular in reference to the OPs question.
Every now and then, I will search for a news story on Facebook, because it allows you to read the "populist" reaction to the story. While this may not yield the most enlightened perspectives, it can be a fascinating sociological exercise to gauge public sentiment about a certain issue that is very localized.
And I do see a trend among the commenters that do seem to be trolling, or hateful, bigoted, or very angry and unforgiving over the most petty grievances. Their education tends to have a statement like "school of hard knocks" or "School of Life because book learnin' doesn't give you common sense", or something of that questionable nature. They also typically list very dubious employment and it's obvious they are unemployed or underemployed. And taking a quick peek at their photos, it's obvious their living conditions are poor, with junky yards, dirty houses and a pitbull tethered to a tree.
Not that everyone who has less than gainful employment or didn't get far in school is a troll, and some people who are very successful on the surface can be insufferable snots, but people who aren't doing so well in life are well represented in trolldom.
I saw some guy go off on a rant once because someone was trying to raise money for women's sanitary products for homeless women. He said these women should learn to use the toilet and not pee themselves. Seriously, what are you going to say to that? Some of it's satire too. I like to just assume the person is trying to do an impersonation of a lunatic.
Insecurity,resentment, bitterness perhaps and there seems to be a fine line between being a troll and just one hateful angry jerk. On some boards they have to insert politics into every conversation and go on a nasty rant ��
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
