Internet Trolls: Born That Way?

What makes someone an internet troll?

Trolls are all over the internet, just annoying people to no end. So we were wondering, what makes someone an internet troll? Are some people just destined to be a troll, or do they develop this ability? The science may surprise you.

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Believe it or not, but there have been numerous scientific studies surrounding trolling behavior. Several have found that internet trolls tend to have personality traits associated with sadism, psychopathy and machiavellianism. But new research out of Stanford and Cornell has found that when the conditions are right, regular old non-sadists can be provoked into trolling too. The researchers found that internet users are more likely to engage in troll-like behavior if they are in a bad mood or on a thread that already contains troll posts.

What's the difference between an internet troll and a cyberbully?
Sometimes they are one in the same, sometimes they're not. Trolls tend to antagonize communities in order to amuse themselves and get attention at the expense of others. Rather than seeking attention for themselves, a cyberbully's goal on the other hand is usually to hurt or damage a specific person.

What type of people are Internet trolls? Several research studies have looked at trolling behavior and they have found that Internet trolls tend to have personality traits associated with the dark triad of personality traits, like psychopathy and machiavelianism. One study found the strongest association with sadism.

Can anyone become an internet troll? New research suggests that people can be provoked into trolling if they are in bad mood or if there are already troll posts on a comment thread or forum.

Want to bring Above the Noise into the classroom? Check out our lesson plan other support materials:

SOURCES:
Online Harassment 2017 (Pew Research Center)

ONLINE HARASSMENT, DIGITAL ABUSE, AND CYBERSTALKING IN AMERICA (Data & Society Research Institute)

Trolling or Cyberbullying? Or Both?

Trolls Just Want to Have Fun

Constructing the cyber-troll: Psychopathy, sadism, and empathy
Anyone Can Become a Troll: Causes of Trolling Behavior in Online Discussions

FOR EDUCATORS

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[EthanolTailor]

rick rolling was never a negative thing

[RobertLofrano]

I thought that trolls were those little guys that wouldn't let you cross the bridge unless you forked over some cash.

[seanspicer]

they see me trollin', they hatin', patrollin' & tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty.

[jjc]

trolling can be positive too, since when is someone commenting "darude sandstorm" evil?

[mayurvalvi]

Came here from Physics Girl's channel ✋✋✋

[elbryan]

I admit, I trolled someone once. I tried to reason with him, I really did. But I've seen him troll other people far too many times to count that I finally got sick of it and decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. Surprise surprise, he blocked me. What a shame. :)

[philipjohansson]

Trolling is different from bullying and flaming. There are more ways of getting a reaction from someone than being mean. Look at Ken M, for instance.

[grcgt]

This guy is so chill! I wish this video discussed the more subtle and witty sort of trolls.

[paulfenton]

But isn't Dianna's second comment a good thing? If "all blondies are dumb" but "every universal law has an exceptions (sic)" aren't they saying you are an exception to the law that "all blondies are dumb." Sure it's insulting and dumb in general but not to you specifically?

[Willow-Eversong]

I've never heard the info behind the studies behind trolling. Thanks for bringing that up.
I don't remember subbing to this channel, but I like the style of it. I'll make a note of watching more of your vids.

[MarkSwope]

Substitute "troll" for "sibling" and a lot of the statements in this video still apply...

[Mentat]

You forgot one kind of trolling, thoses who troll to make a point (could be about "fanatics" for example, or people totally fixated on one point of view)

[Wooble]

The way i've always experienced trolls, the defninition is close to just getting a rise out of people. For instance taking a unpopular stance that you don't believe in the slightest, then loudly proclaiming such where you are almost certain to get many responses is a form of trolling. Sometimes a person making only one, or two comments set's off a huge argument even long after they've stopped commenting.

Generally speaking i feel like people way overthink the whole trolling thing. It used to be common sense on the internet to NOT feed the trolls. Attention is what they want, if they don't get it they will go elsewhere.

I suppose i've always had a issue with online bullying, outside of very specific cases (like creating new accounts to harass someone after they've blocked you) it's easily preventable. It's one of the aspects of the net I like best. If i don't want to talk to someone, i don't have to, and they can't even make me hear them if i wish otherwise. When you decouple people from consequences it's always going to bring out the bad in some, but the anonymity of the net has benifet's as well, and imo they outweigh the bad.

[lumm]

Trolling is definitely an interesting topic to learn about. Most people in forums react wrong to troll attacks and get “trolled”. Thanks for this interesting stuff.

[tenossos]

If you don't feed the trolls, they'll quit trolling

[bgdhrd]

Those were totally goblins, not trolls, that you used as illustration.

[RupaniJuvell]

After years of studying trolls, I finally decided to try it to learn more. It was the only time I've done it and I failed massively. I waited until I was super stressed, created a new character on a mmorpg, got into a channel full of trolls, and gave it a try... got responded to... and cried.
I guess not everyone can be turned into a troll.
...Then again, it was a single data point. Perhaps some people need more than others? I don't know. My stress levels were DEFINITELY higher than some difficult math, though.

[jjones]

Based on your graphics I think you have the wrong definition of a troll.

[shivainvalidos]

"If you don't eat ass you will never be able to clean your room" - Jordan Peterson

[animalmother]

1:13 "...to the point that some news websites have removed their comments sections altogether."
Let's be real, news sites removed comment sections because people call them on their bullshit. Think about what Robert Crichton's anecdote on this.