The Dark Side of The Internet, Trolling Costs Lives
In the dark depths of the internet lurk creatures that disrupt and cause chaos amongst our digital world… these ‘creatures’ are called trolls and you are likely to already have come across one of them in your time in the cyber sphere. Before I start this blog I want to acknowledge that trolling, social media conflict, cyberbullying, ghosting and harassment can cause harmful psychological and physical distress. As a pre-cautionary for my readers this blog mentions suicide and online abuse.
Remember you are never alone:
Kids Help Line: 1800 55 1800
https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/bullying
Headspace:
https://headspace.org.au/young-people/what-is-bullying-and-the-effects-on-mental-health/
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
So what is a troll?
Trolls can be described as an individual who participates in harmful activities by commenting, posting or attacking an individual on a social media platform in order to gain attention, cause upset and/or provoke an argument. This is usually someone who is a stranger and acts under a fake profile or persona unknown to the victim. The fundamental difference between cyber bullying and trolling is cyberbullying is an individual’s intention to harm their victim whereas trolling is a more inflammatory act to cause a reaction. Both trolling and cyber bullying are acts of social media conflict and harassment and a reflection of some of the negative affordances of social media.
Image Source: NBC News 2012
Why are trolls doing this?
Trolls want to make you angry, they want to upset you and they do not feel the remorse of their actions. The power of disguise and invisibility gives these individuals the illusionary sense that they can attack someone without any real ramifications, this creates an environment for trolls to act without consequence. Social Media and Society was written by professor Dr. Pamela Brubaker and Dr Scott Church, their research suggests trolls exhibit the Dark Triad personality (Brandon 2021). The Dark Triad is a term used to describe a personality type that has traits of narcissi, machiavvellianism and psychopathy. So to breakdown the dark triad personality, narcism is associated with an extreme lack of empathy and grandiose thinking, they often think their opinion is the right opinion and everyone else is wrong. Machiavellianism is linked to manipulation and gaining power of others and the psychopathic element of a troll is their enjoyment of others pain and upset. A study conducted by Japanese researcher Keita Masui revealed the correlation between loneliness and the dark triad. “Higher levels of loneliness were positively associated with internet trolling in high psychopathy individuals. These results provide new evidence of the moderating role of loneliness on the relationship between DT personality traits and internet trolling behavior and may provide useful insights into the development and mitigation of this antisocial online response.” (Masui 2019)
Through analysing trolling as a personality disorder we may be able to take steps to create safer digital communities by creating education around these issues. Trolls are ever-evolving and continuously adapting to the changing landscape of online communication. In recent years we have seen the role of trolls in cancel culture, political campaigns and the harmful effects of rising mental health issues due to online abuse.
Image Source: Wikipedia
What are the effects of online trolling?
The Australian institute reported the Australian economy suffered $3.7 Billion in lost income and health related costs due to trolling and cyber abuse and of that 8.8 million Australians had experienced online harassment. (March 2020) Another case study revealed 750 Australian teens between the age of 13-17 commit suicide per year due to online bullying and harassment, these statistics reflect the harrowing effects of trolling. Tragically in 2018, 14 year old Dolly Everett took her life due to cyberbullying and trolling. Dollys parents Kate and Tick Everett aim to combat cyberbullying by looking at the changes parents can make by providing support to parents and offering an education around behaviours that can help prevent bullying.
Dolly Everett was 14 when she took her life to cyber bullying.
Image Source: Dollys Dream
Strategies to combat the Troll?
De-platforming trolls is one strategy suggested to remove and block trolls from using the platforms completely. Another is to take away their power by not giving them attention, or fuelling their fire. Investigative writer Ginger Gorman suggests much greater changes are needed “Cyberhate is a complex issue that needs a multifaceted community response. As a bare minimum, law enforcement and social media companies need to do a lot more to keep us safe. Often these are kids from violent and neglectful homes. They are left alone on the internet from a young age, imbibing torrents of hate. It's no wonder they are spat out as angry and isolated young men who want to harm others. This is a parenting story. And we can fix it.”(Gorman 2019)
While we are still unravelling the motives behind trolls and their actions. We shouldn’t have to lose more lives to raise awareness around this issue. There are several strategies you can take if you are targeted as one of their victims:
1. The most important step is to take away the power by not engaging or responding
2. Take a screenshot of the harassment, bullying or trolling
3. Block the troll
4. Provide police or social media services with a copy of the screenshot
5. In more serious cases if you experience anxiety, lowered self-esteem, call support services or seek help.
Help Hotlines|
Kids Help Line: 1800 55 1800
https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/bullying
Headspace:
https://headspace.org.au/young-people/what-is-bullying-and-the-effects-on-mental-health/
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
References|
Brandon, J., 2021. New Research Suggests Most Social Media Trolls Have The Dark Triad Personality. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbbrandon/2021/06/28/new-research-suggests-most-social-media-trolls-have-the-dark-triad-personality/?sh=5506d68f6f4e> [Accessed 27 August 2021].
Brennar, G., 2019. What Makes Internet Trolls Tick?. [online] Psychology Today. Available at: <https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/experimentations/201908/what-makes-internet-trolls-tick> [Accessed 22 August 2021].
Cooke, B., 2020. Why do people troll? The psychology of online trolling. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://brunocooke.medium.com/why-do-people-troll-the-psychology-of-online-trolling-af7f188e1a50> [Accessed 24 August 2021].
Dolly's Dream. 2020. About us - Dolly's Dream. [online] Available at: <https://dollysdream.org.au/about-us/> [Accessed 21 August 2021].
Gorman, g., 2019. I interviewed hundreds of trolls. Everything I thought I knew about them was wrong. [online] Abc.net.au. Available at: <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-02/internet-trolls-arent-who-i-thought-ginger-gorman-troll-hunting/10767690> [Accessed 22 August 2021].
Hürriyet Daily News. 2021. Increased cyber bullying leads to teen suicides in Australia - World News. [online] Available at: <https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/increased-cyber-bullying-leads-to-teen-suicides-in-australia-14921> [Accessed 28 August 2021].
March, E., 2020. New research shows trolls don't just enjoy hurting others, they also feel good about themselves. [online] The Conversation. Available at: <https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-trolls-dont-just-enjoy-hurting-others-they-also-feel-good-about-themselves-145931> [Accessed 25 August 2021].
Masui, K., 2019. Loneliness moderates the relationship between Dark Tetrad personality traits and internet trolling. [online] Science direct. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886919303988> [Accessed 20 August 2021].