The Nature of Trolling: Sadism and Machiavellianism

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Although the word "troll" has only recently entered the mainstream lexicon (due in part to the rise in popularity of online discussion forums such as 4chan and Reddit, and massively multiplayer online games), trolling has its origins in chat rooms in the 1980s. At that time, online instigators of humiliating and, in fact, senseless disputes, or squabbles ("flamewars") were called "trolls". Nowadays, however, “trolling” has become a generic term that applies equally well to hate comments on Youtube and tweets that are intended to inflict annoyance.

Trolling is on the rise. In the United Kingdom, more than 1200 people were convicted in 2014 under section 127 of the Communications Act (2003). Under this law, any message or material sent “through a public communication network” and that is “grossly offensive, aggressive, obscene or threatening” is classified as a crime. While in 2004 only 143 convictions were made under this law.

Psychologist John Schuler believes that one possible explanation for the increased incidence of trolling could be the "disinhibition effect on the Web", which leads to a weakening of social constraints due to factors such as Internet anonymity and invisibility. The fact that we spend more time on the Internet plays an important role: in 2005, one billion people got constant access to the Internet, and in 2015 - 3.2 billion.

But could disinhibition be the only explanation for trolling? What is the primary reason for wanting to troll? In 2014, a team of researchers led by Erin Bakels of the University of Manitoba published an article titled "Trolls Just Want to Have Fun."... They hypothesized that there is a link between personality disorders and online trolling. To test this idea, the Bakels team conducted two anonymous online surveys of Internet habits, including questions and statements related to trolling. For example: "I sent people shocking sites for fun." In addition, the authors used the Global Assessment of Internet Trolling (GAIT) to measure the performance of trolling behavior. Participants rated statements such as "I really enjoy upsetting people on the Internet" on a five-point scale. For example, 1 meant “strongly disagree” and 5 meant “strongly agree”.

the latter found strong positive correlations between trolling and Machiavellianism Machiavellianism - in a broad sense: behavior based on the cult of brute force, disregard for moral norms and the like., a predisposition to deceit, prudence and a willingness to cheat in order to achieve personal goals; in addition, links have been made to psychopathy or lack of remorse and empathy, as well as manipulative tendencies. Sadistic tendencies, or the tendency to take pleasure in inflicting physical or psychological pain on others, was one of the most enduring personality traits associated with troll behavior. The authors conclude, "The links between sadism and GAIT scores were so strong that one could say that the prototype of the online troll is the everyday sadist."

In another study, called The Dark Side of Facebook, Federation University psychologist Evita March and her colleagues conducted an online survey similar to the Bakels survey. It was attended by three hundred ninety-six adults from 18 to 77 years old, 76 percent of them are women. The researchers found that Facebook trolls "tend to be merciless, emotionally violent, and addicted to the pleasure they derive from other people's pain and discomfort." This pleasure can be very addictive. March notes:

“When you participate in this, your actions are reinforced by certain biological mechanisms: neurotransmitters and dopamine. But as with any addictive behavior, you need more and more to get the same pleasure, so we see people getting deeper and deeper into trolling."

So, while the Internet allows trolls to exist, it is difficult to argue that it creates them. It boils down, like so much else, to human nature.