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Reasons Why People Troll on Social Media
Looking at why people make negative comments on social media.
One morning, I start to scroll through my social media feeds. The first message I got was: “F**k you.” Really made my day. I ignored it and blocked the person.
When I heard the term “troll” in the past, I first thought of a big, ugly, and stupid guy from a Harry Potter movie or fantasy TV shows and films. Nowadays, trolling has become a verb to describe bad behavior on social media like the above. As a writer, I have had my fair share of negative comments. Common types of troll activity are:
- profanity
- hate speech
- misogyny
- body-shaming
- name-calling
- all kinds of verbal harassment.
So, what motivates people to troll?
Reasons Why People Become Trolls
Mental health issues
Most of us think of trolls as mentally disturbed or sociopathic individuals. Research has shown that a small percentage of perpetrators have specific personality and biological traits that predispose them to this type of behavior such as thrill-seeking, narcissism, or sadistic tendencies. Some enjoy ridiculing and tormenting others. They…
