Why Do People Troll Online? These 6 reasons can offer some clarity.

[PeterD]

If you’ve ever been the victim of persistent online trolling, then you
know exactly how discombobulating it can feel. You might feel mixed
emotions that range from confusion and anger to anxiety and sadness.
And you wouldn’t be alone.

Research has shown that roughly four in 10 Americans have personally
experienced online harassment and that 62 percent consider it to be a
major problem.

You might ask: What causes trolling and what can I do about it? Well,
before we can get to the psychology, we have to get our definitions in
order.

Trolling Defined

Different aspects of the trolling phenomenon have gone by many names:
trolling, harassment, cyberbullying, flaming, sh*t-posting, etc. While
these terms are not exactly the same, they do have a common theme: They
all describe bad-faith, unwelcoming behavior that occurs online to
disrupt conversations, often by parachuting into discussions uninvited.

It’s helpful to think about trolling on a spectrum of intensity and
threat level. For example, on one end of the spectrum, there can be
infrequent, mildly annoying but ultimately harmless trolling; and on
the other end of the spectrum, trolling can bleed into a form that is
severe, relentless, and dangerous. The precise boundary between
trolling and harassment is fuzzy. If trolling becomes persistent and
targeted, then it might be considered harassment and can enter legal
territory.

Trolling also has different styles. Some trolling is overt and obvious:
name-calling, personal attacks, character assassinations, spreading
lies, releasing private information (i.e., doxing), complaining to
employers, threats, etc. And sometimes it can be covert and sneaky:
social media stalking behind a block, "sealioning," talking about
someone without tagging or naming them (e.g., sub-tweeting), etc.

What Causes Trolling?

Trolling is multi-causal. This means that it isn’t caused by any one
reason, but rather by many reasons that can add up and interact with
each other in a perfect storm to produce trolling. The most helpful way
to think about these causes is to divide them into two broad
categories: reasons outside of a person (i.e., environmental factors)
and reasons inside of a person (i.e., individual factors).

Environmental factors that contribute to trolling:

• The online disinhibition effect: This phenomenon describes an
illusion of invincibility and invisibility. A person is more likely to
troll from behind a screen than face-to-face due to a false sense of
security. Metaphorically, the online environment can produce a sort of
mental veil that seems to open a release valve into some of the darker
corners of human nature—not unlike the “liquid courage” and
disinhibition that alcohol can provide. Unsurprisingly, combining the
online disinhibition effect with alcohol use can be a recipe for
disaster.

• Anonymity: If a person engages anonymously online, then it’s like the
online disinhibition effect has just taken steroids. It is easier to
troll with the illusion of no accountability and no connection to one’s
life off-line.

• Tribalism: The power of the group can add more fuel to the fire. Like
a pack of wolves, humans are social creatures and have an innate desire
to be part of a group. When many members of a group are trolling a
target, a sense of belonging can be achieved by conforming to the
group’s behavior.

Individual factors that contribute to trolling:

• Personality: There are many ways of understanding personality. In
essence, personality traits are deeply ingrained patterns of thinking
and behaving. One way to understand one particular aspect of
personality is to focus on some of the darker sides of human nature,
which researchers have called the dark tetrad: sadism, psychopathy,
narcissism, and Machiavellianism. The dark tetrad has been found to be
associated with trolling. Within the dark tetrad, sadism has been found
to be the strongest predictor of trolling, which describes the tendency
to derive pleasure or enjoyment from being cruel or demeaning to
others. It is important to recognize that sadism in this sense occurs
on a spectrum—people can have more or less sadistic tendencies.

• Ideologically possessed beliefs: Some people are married to their
beliefs and don't believe in divorce. In other words, some people can
rigidly over-identify with particular beliefs (e.g., about health,
gender, racism, politics, etc.) to the extent that they might engage in
trolling behavior when those beliefs are threatened. People don’t like
it when their worldviews are poked and prodded because it can be very
upsetting when someone is told that the way in which they understand
the world is wrong. It can also feel personal and can result in lashing
out for protection. Research has shown that people perceive trolling as
more deserved and justified when they perceive that the target has
committed an offense.

• Conditioning: Not everyone finds demeaning people to be rewarding and
reinforcing. But this is the experience of people with stronger
sadistic tendencies. One framework to help understand trolling is what
psychologists call operant and classical conditioning. Operant
conditioning is the study of rewards and punishment to influence
behavior. For some, this might dredge up images of rats or pigeons
dancing for food pebbles. Basically, trolling behavior can feel
rewarding in two ways: the pleasure experienced from getting a rise out
of a target (positive reinforcement) and in some cases, the pleasure
experienced by avoiding or distracting from aspects of life that are
uncomfortable (negative reinforcement). Like a slot machine, randomly
responding to trolling just strengthens the motivation for it to
continue. Simultaneously, there are classical conditioning processes
going on—reminiscent of a dog that salivates when you open the cupboard
because they know they’re about to eat. A dog salivates because they’ve
learned that the cupboard represents food. In the same way, people with
sadistic tendencies that engage in trolling may salivate, so to speak,
when they learn that their target represents the pleasure that they’ll
experience when they troll.

What Can You Do About Trolling?
There isn’t exactly a one-size-fits-all approach to handling trolling
because it’s complex, multi-causal, and ranges in severity. But there
are surefire ways to cope.

First, social support is paramount: It can be tremendously beneficial
to relate to others and to express your thoughts and feelings. There
are also a variety of online resources that could be helpful.

Second, the lesson from conditioning is obvious—don’t feed the trolls!
If you deprive the experience of pleasure from someone who engages in
trolling behavior, then they will learn that they cannot derive
pleasure from trolling you and will likely desist. The block function
on social media is one way to assert this boundary and also delivers
the message: “I deserve to be treated with respect, kindness, and
good-faith engagement.”

Lastly, trolling can result in many mixed emotions. In this vein, it’s
important to develop and practice mental health coping skills. If
you’re struggling with mental health concerns, then you should seek
help from a professional. If you’re being harassed and feeling
threatened, then you should call the police and seek legal counsel.

It is important to remember that respectful disagreement is not
trolling—and at the same time, no one is owed your engagement.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/writing-integrity/202008/why-do-people-troll-online