Inside the Mind of the Internet Troll
It’s official! Research has confirmed what we suspected all along—internet trolls really are terrible people. Savvy Psychologist Dr. Ellen Hendriksen confirms why we shouldn’t feed the trolls.
Last year, the journal Personality and Individual Differences published a study in which 1,215 participants completed personality profiles and a questionnaire about commenting online.
Individuals who endorsed trolling were off the charts on three different personality characteristics: narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism. In particular, sadism–deriving pleasure from inflicting pain on others–was a strong characteristic of trolls. The researchers compared trolls to Batman’s nemesis, the Joker, explaining that trolls “operate as agents of chaos” online to exploit, deceive, or bully for their own amusement.
See also: 5 Ways to Empower Your Child Against Cyberbullying
Interestingly, individuals who spent a lot of time online and were frequent commenters more often described themselves as trolls, and gleefully reported that they enjoyed trolling. Therefore, it’s possible that trolls are overrepresented online, or as the research paper so aptly put it, “Dark personalities leave large digital footprints.”
In short, trolls are the grown-up versions of our middle school bullies, armed with a screen name and a laptop.
Bottom line: the comments section really is the bathroom wall of the internet. If you’re targeted, rest assured, it really isn’t about you. It’s just 
some joker having his brand of fun.
If you have any questions about internet trolls, ask them in the comments section below (and remember, keep it civil—no trolling!) or head over to Facebook.com/savvypsychologist.
Reference: Buckels, E.E., Trapnell, P.D., & Paulhus, D.L. (2014). Trolls just want to have fun. Personality and Individual Differences, 67, 97-102.
Internet Troll image courtesy of Shutterstock.
About the Author
Dr. Ellen Hendriksen was the host of the Savvy Psychologist podcast from 2014 to 2019. She is a clinical psychologist at Boston University’s Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CARD). She earned her Ph.D. at UCLA and completed her training at Harvard Medical School. Her scientifically-based, zero-judgment approach is regularly featured in Psychology Today, Scientific American, The Huffington Post, and many other media outlets. Her debut book, HOW TO BE YOURSELF: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety, was published in March 2018.
