With the expansion of communication via the Internet, such a phenomenon as "trolling" is actively manifested. I must say that almost every large community is familiar with "trolling" as a social phenomenon, in which numerous discussions unfold. "Trolls" are specific characters on forums and social networks whose purpose is to provoke anger, create an explicit or latent conflict, belittle or insult other participants.
The influence of the trolls
Trolls are capable of destroying entire forums, since all attention is diverted from discussing specific topics to sorting out the relationship, and new visitors simply stop leaving their comments and leave the communication space.
The work of trolls can be used purposefully to harm a competitor's business or promote certain opinions in society. Sometimes for political purposes the opinions of people are cleverly manipulated through "trolling".
Troll personality traits
If you analyze the motives that drive the troll, then you can find a desire to stand out, attract attention and emotions (mostly negative), feel some power. So he compensates for his powerlessness, low self-esteem, lack of constructive abilities. The troll's goal is to gain attention in negative ways, because others are not available to him.
The motivation of the average troll is a bit like teenage, when schoolchildren assert themselves through shouting lines, the purpose of which is to attract short-term attention. The more unusual, insulting or provocative the remark, the more the teenager gets in the form of attention to his person. The best option is if everyone laughed and the subject is embarrassed. Usually such phenomena stop and mature young men and women increase their importance in more constructive ways, for example, through sports, career achievements, etc.
However, there are people who cannot change in matters of self-affirmation, and they remain at the same adolescent level, trying to simply attract attention to themselves with bright actions. These people can later turn into typical trolls.
It is also worth mentioning that there are hidden trolls - they are average members of communities and forums, who may even be accepted by the majority. They sometimes show themselves quite adequately, but at times, using the position of "their" person, they can start provocations in the community. Apparently they have not completely outlived their immature teenage essence, because they need, at least sometimes, negative feeding.
There are also trolls with mental or borderline mental disorders - they communicate on the Internet based on their characteristics.
Can trolls be helpful?
Trolls, like everything that provokes us to any negative, reveal the imperfections of both entire communities and each individual member of them.
First of all, the stability of our self-esteem is tested. A participant who has been exposed to a virtual attack for the first time experiences severe discomfort, doubts about his competence, professionalism, and the adequacy of his ideological position. It will be some point of growth for him to feel sufficiently stable and confident in himself and in what he is trying to justify, despite such attacks.
Secondly, despite the fact that the statements of the trolls are often empty and emotional, sometimes they still carry critical remarks that reveal our imperfections as a person or our position on any controversial issue. Here it is useful to think about whether something constructive is hidden behind the boorish mask, about which, perhaps, it would be worth thinking about? Of course, to thank the troll for the lesson rendered is unnecessary, but such a situation may well throw food for thought.
And thirdly, being forced into a situation of communication with trolls can help develop a more balanced and mature position in relation to characters who behave provocatively. After such interaction, immunity to such situations is developed, which helps to learn new and useful skills. When a person sees the motives of the troll behind the external provocative behavior, his desire to assert himself, to attract attention to himself in rather immature ways, then he is not involved in destructive communication, but passes him by to his goal. And the experience of such a balanced position helps to acquire the troll.
