tuscl

Study: "Internet Trolls' Are Actually Jerks in Real Life Too"

shadowcat
Atlanta suburb

A new report from the University of Manitoba finds that people who troll on the Internet exhibit traits of “sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism” in real life

Hollywood media is no stranger to the vast amount of internet trolls that dominate social media and the web at large.

Well, if you ever wondered whether the jerk who left that mean YouTube comment on your favorite music video was a jerk in real life, you might have been on to something. Some new scientific evidence is in and it turns out many internet trolls act the same in real life.


According to a new study published by the University of Manitoba, internet trolls — people who commonly lurk on message boards and post offensive material to get a rise out of people — exhibit anti-social behavior in their offline settings as well.

The research, conducted by University of Manitoba Erin Buckels and two colleagues, revealed that those who trolled online also tended to have the “Dark Tetrad of personality” — featuring traits of “sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.”


The Canadian researchers defined trolling as the “practice of behaving in a deceptive, destructive, or disruptive manner in a social setting on the Internet with no apparent instrumental purpose.”

The study concluded that “enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism. Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism.”

17 comments

  • Caprisun69
    •
    10 years ago
    Well I have a feeling this discussion will wake up the trolls and u add that in along with it being.a Sunday (a day that is known that all trolls are trolling about) this should lead too some interesting comments
  • steve229
    •
    10 years ago

    duh
  • Dougster
    •
    10 years ago
    "exhibit traits of 'sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism'"

    Sounds like the RickyBoy. Just traits though - doesn't qualify as full blown sociopath though due his more dominant "complete pussy" and "dipshit" traits.

    Lol!
  • rickdugan
    •
    10 years ago
    Good find Shadow. No surprise really, except I would have expected several other characteristics (physical and psychological impairments, abuse as a child, etc.) to have also been identified. After all, what kind of person does one have to be to find pleasure in trolling a website?

    Dougster, care to enlighten us? ;)
  • Dougster
    •
    10 years ago
    This should explain it all RickyBoy:

    https://www.tuscl.net/postread.php?PID=2…
  • Clubber
    •
    10 years ago
    So may missed postings. Well, I won't say I really missed them. :)


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf4veA65… 10 second mark
  • sharkhunter
    •
    10 years ago
    I hope they didn't pay much to reach this brilliant deduction.

    Takes as much thought as to solve the wheel of fortune puzzle Merlin the magician when the letters e and a are missing. Surprisingly, everyone got it wrong. I never heard of Marvin the magician but apparently the contestants knew all about this Marvin guy. I think a drunk guy in a bar would do better some of the time.
  • joker44
    •
    10 years ago
    Good find SC. Fits some of our trolls very well.

    Here's another take on trolls who post comments devoid of any substance, just posting to get avatar in discussion stream and rack up meaningless comment 'points'. From another discussion board poster:

    "Arguing with idiots is like playing chess with a pigeon...No matter how good you are, the bird is going to shit on the board and strut around like it won anyway."
  • shadowcat
    •
    10 years ago
    Yeah I know. "Sippy_Cup wins".
  • joker44
    •
    10 years ago
    Bingo!, SC
  • minnow
    •
    10 years ago
    Good one, joker, though I'd substitute a goose for a pigeon since geese seem to shit more and bigger. "CTTOI", that is a more apt description of Tuscl DB.
    Also, I suspect most have heard the phrase "out of here like shit through a goose". Now that wouldn't be a bad exit plan for some trolls/spammers.......
  • Dougster
    •
    10 years ago
    My guess is that while some trolls for this "dark tetrad" that is the more extreme end of the spectrum. Like those who grieve teenage girls on Facebook until they commit suicide.

    Most are probably more like Sippy_Cup - harmless goofing around. Pretty unlikely he is a "psychopath" or "sadist" in real life. The researches may just have focused on the extremes and dramatic words to justify the cost of their study. I'm sure Sippy, et al are perfectly nice IRL. RickyBoy, OTOH, not so much. :-)
  • jester214
    •
    10 years ago
    It's back. Guess finals week is over.
  • Caprisun69
    •
    10 years ago
    ^^^LOL prom is done with too
  • motorhead
    •
    10 years ago
    Prom? Do ya think _______(insert name) actually went to the prom?

    Lol
  • farmerart
    •
    10 years ago
    ^^^^^^^

    farmerart didn't go to his high school prom.
  • Dougster
    •
    10 years ago
    "It"? The jestie-girl stealing material from alutard? Further proof it's just one guy posting under different aliases.
You must be a member to leave a comment.Join Now
Got something to say?
Start your own discussion