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What drives a person to become an internet troll?

By islander
July 27, 2021 4:20 am
Category: Politics

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Just saw this article in "The Conversation" and wondered how many think it might be fairly accurate in many respects?

From the site:
"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."

Cited and related links:

  1. theconversation.com

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Comments on "What drives a person to become an internet troll?":

  1. by HatetheSwamp on July 27, 2021 5:15 am
    Hey, gang! I'm back on SS. Over night, I trapped 20 flies and just pulled the wings off of all of them. Nuthin else to do, so I'm back!

    How are y'all!!!!!?

    Bahahahaha!

  2. by Curt Anderson on July 27, 2021 11:35 am
    I have an admitted and somewhat narrow viewpoint on this topic. For one thing, I am self-absorbed with this website and I don't have accounts or spend time on social media. I also am politically liberal so I have my biases.

    It's hard for me to believe that some the people who have been accused of being trolls are completely sincere and not simply trying to get rise out of people. Also from my perspective, it seems that trolls are always conservative. Are there any progressive or liberal trolls?

    Do conservatives have the reverse of my opinion and see Democrats, liberals and other anti-Trumpers as insincere, rabble-rousing trolls?

  3. by islander on July 27, 2021 11:57 am
    I think it's one thing to have political biases which is something we all have, however I don't think that makes one an internet troll. Most, I think, define trolling as deceptive and disruptive online behaviour, which typically involves posting inflammatory and malicious comments to deliberately provoke and upset people and/or keep a conversation or discussion off point.

  4. by HatetheSwamp on July 27, 2021 12:39 pm
    It's hard for me to believe that some the people who have been accused of being trolls are completely sincere and not simply trying to get rise out of people. Also from my perspective, it seems that trolls are always conservative. Are there any progressive or liberal trolls?

    I think a troll is ALWAYS someone who holds an ideology at odds with the person passing judgment on another person.

    One person's troll is another's raconteur.

    Also, I think that to think to pass judgment on someone else as a troll is a woke progressive disease.

    There are many of you wokesters who irritate the bejesus out of people on my side, but I've never known an antiSwamper to call one of you a troll. I think it's purely a sanctimonious, Swampcult Blue MAGA thing.

  5. by islander on July 27, 2021 2:50 pm

    This is an interesting article. It indicates how “loneliness” can be one of powerful factors in explaining the internet troll phenomenon. It helps explain what drives them.


    abc.net.au

  6. by islander on July 27, 2021 3:03 pm

    Although the site I just gave gives some interesting info on internet trolls and what drives them, this is the site that that discusses the loneliness factor.
    sciencedirect.com

  7. by islander on July 27, 2021 3:06 pm
    If you are unable to gain access to the previous site, thi site also gives insights into the loneliness aspect as it relates to internet trolls.
    granthbrennermd.medium.com

  8. by Curt Anderson on July 27, 2021 3:35 pm
    Now is a good time to remember former first lady Melania Trump's "Be Best" campaign which advocated against cyberbullying.
    fastcompany.com

  9. by Curt_Anderson on August 21, 2021 2:13 pm
    I have another theory about people we see as trolls. I start with the supposition that when somebody identifies another person as troll, it's a near certainty that that person is on the other side of the ideological fence.

    Has anybody ever said so-and-so is troll, but I agree with his politics?

    I am not convinced that the so-called trolls are all malicious, although some probably are. The people who have been accused of being trolls usually have weak or no arguments to support their point of view, that's because their beliefs tend to more emotional that intellectual. That's why "trolls" aren't good at presenting links and evidence to back-up their claims, which can be frustrating.

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