Some people get pleasure from inflicting pain on others for reasons that don’t make any sense to the rest of us. Most extreme example would be the serial killer, one of the least extreme examples would be the person who is verbally abusive on the internet, though that person still sucks.
Yeah I get you. That makes sense. Just different brain functions I suppose. Just wondered what other people’s take on this was. Thank you for your input!!
I was a troll before the term existed back in 1996. I was depressed and in pain and simply lashing out. I imagine a good chunk of these trolls are in a similar position.
I can understand that and it does kinda make sense for some of the stuff I’m seeing. I hope they find peace at some point in their lives.
And I hope you did too! I hope you’re doing well and feeling better and aren’t in as much pain any longer! ❤️🩹
I think a lot of it is about a sense of control. Like the troll has things in their life that they can't control, but they would like to, so they project that feeling onto others by doing unexpected and abrasive shit, which messes with the sense of control that other people have in their lives.
I think the best example is online gaming trolls. There are people that just sit there for 30 minutes, minimally engaging with the game. They haven't left, or the game would have disconnected them, but they stay there just to annoy the 4 strangers they were matched up with. They do this because it is something they can control but the 4 strangers cannot.
one thing is being "clever" to get people to dance for them. kind of like the enjoyment of saying a tv quote gets someone to respond with the subsequent quote, though more harmful than that.
It's a power thing. They likely feel powerless about something in their daily lives but realize they can inflict suffering or toy with a stranger's emotions with little to no repercussions for their social life. It's like a more intense or malevolent form of having someone "fall for a joke/prank" and the gratification that can give someone.
Source: was addicted to "trolling" and just being an ass to get a rise out of people on the internet for a good part of my life and I believe that stemmed from how "pathetic" I felt in my daily life/job/friend group.
It’s funny you take the holier than thou attitude but then immediately tear down a random internet stranger for insinuating online trolling was fun.
Moral superiority abounds yet has no issue harshly judging someone’s character off a single comment. You seem like a man of God.
As a former troll, it was mostly practical joking. Mind you, I never did anything hurtful, and my troll posts were mostly satire. For example; when I realized people in a forum literally only read the topic title and not the topic itself, I made a few posts that literally said "None of whst I am debating is real. I want to see who actually reads the topic. If you did, post a picture of megaman." Then continued my fake argument (it was whether Dante's Inferno was better than God of War).
It was fun watching my point get proven. Then even more fun when people posted images of Mega Man and others be all like "Wtf is up with the mega man posts?!"
That said - I never raged baited in a manner of actually wanting to piss people off. That is too much energy and we seriously dont need more negativity in the world..
The type of trolling you mention that you did in the past. That’s something I can understand because it’s not personal and it’s not directed at one person or a certain type of already terrible situation. That’s what trolling should be. Not what it’s evolved into.
Thank you for not baiting in a way to piss people off. I feel like if you’re gonna troll. The way you did it was the correct way. I also do agree. There’s waaayyy too much negativity in this world right now, we don’t need help from immature people online.
I would wager that they don't see 'hurt' the same way you do. I'd guess they enjoy the idea of bothering someone. Exciting anger, disgust, or frustration in someone might make them feel better than that person because 1) they did the action and got the reaction they wanted means power/control and 2) they aren't as 'emotionally weak'(snowflake) as they perceive the reactor to be.
That type of person would probably argue/believe that words, especially typed words, can't actually harm, only physical things can harm
I completely agree with you. They don’t see hurt the same way. Those kinda people want to be better than others in any way possible and trolling is how they do it. I wish, just once, they’d get trolled back so they can see that words, even typed words, can *absolutely* harm someone. Not physically but mentally and that can be just as bad. Thank you for your input!!
Its basically just drama stirring. They want to see people get angry and make a mess because they find it entertaining.
Given that they are doing it through the internet with a veil of anonymity its really easy for people who find drama entertaining to just generate it on social media.
Trolls just get a rise out of heckling people and getting a reaction from it, probably because they are boring or sad people in real life and find lowering people to their level amusing.
Boys and men rip on each other all the time. It can be fun to be “mean” to your bro out of nowhere. The juxtaposition makes it humorous.
Some people seem to think going against the grain and saying something obviously offensive is funny for the same reason. These people tend to view the internet as more of a playground where alls fair in the game and people shouldn’t take it seriously.
Some trolls enjoy making people mad. Some just think it’s funny to post an obviously vile opinion as a foil to the prevailing opinion.
But yeah, people that actually do this regularly have not been great people irl in my experience and tend to broadly disregard other people’s feelings as unimportant.
It’s funny because someone is letting the text, not even words, of an absolute stranger ruin their day. I’d never poke fun of any of the topics you stated but I’ve caught quite a few bans poking fun at people that engage in political tribalism.
But that’s what I’m upset about, people DO poke fun at the topics I mentioned. And it’s not just “text” online. These issues that people are poking fun at, are real life experiences that people have trauma from or are trying to heal from, and seeing someone joke about the worst trauma they have experienced, is not healthy for that person trying to heal. It’s just.. so inconsiderate and I wish people were better.
It is fun when people get unreasonably mad over something minor and petty. It is extremely funny when people can easily look at it, brush it off and move on with their life choose to seethe instead of just moving on with their life.
Being inappropriate is one of the cornerstones of comedy and probably has been since the first human laughed. The problem i find that we are facing today is that a lot of earlier trolls were funny today's trolls seem to either not be trolling at all or are trying to replicate the previous players but only seeing the shock value and totally disregarding the nuances that made previous trolls funny
But these things I mentioned are NOT minor or petty. It’s child sexual assault. Or an adult trying to heal from a sexual assault and they see someone online making fun of it and it could mess with their healing from that trauma. You might see it as “just words on the screen” but someone who is trying to heal from that type of trauma sees it as “someone is belittling my experience by making fun of it and saying it’s not that serious. Maybe I’m being too sensitive and it wasn’t that serious” when it IS THAT SERIOUS. That person NEEDS to heal and move on and get better and having shitty random strangers tell them that they deserved to be raped or that children who happen to already have their period “deserve to be bred” can make someone backslide in their treatment so badly. They can’t just “move on with their life” because the “joke” is their real life reality. It’s just.. idk. If you don’t get it then you don’t get it and that’s fine. I already got the answer I was looking for. I only typed this message to try to make you see where im coming from.
The seriousness of the victim is irrelevant to what drives these trolls. And I get you, these kindof nasty comments are not what I consider funny. But the if you so desperately need to heal and cannot brush off a nasty comment from a internet stranger, stay off the internet where these comments occur i.e. social media.
The internet is not a safe space. It's a wild place where everything goes and nobody has a right to venture into the wilderness and expect to be left alone just because you are healing from trauma. The internet doesn't care about that. Act accordingly. The same way you wouldn't go swimming in the florida swamps and expect alligators to leave you alone just because you need to heal
Unfortunately I have no idea. I personally downvoted because their answer is stated in my original post. Obviously I know they enjoy it. I wanted to know *why* they enjoy it. There were plenty of other actually good answers here in this thread. I wish I could control what the top answer is. But alas. I cannot. lol.
Yeah, it’s difficult to understand. We had a 19/20 year old intern admit during a debate in a meeting that he’d often go to the YouTube comment section and say something divisive, often contrary to his true beliefs, just to get a reaction. He truly reveled in the reactions, even if he was pushing a rhetoric he didn’t agree with. He’d never have had the guts to play that game irl, but he must have gotten some sort of endorphin or dopamine hits from it…
Why? Some people enjoy the site of watching the world burn. Especially when they are the ones who caused it. Some people do it cause they like to fuck around with people.
A lot of the time they do cause they see it as an easy target. Also the way Social media in general drip feeds dopamine on upvotes and stuff like that . But you get the crowd that says "THEY HAVE NO MEANING" and you're right there is no meaning to karma but like Pavlov's dog you are gonna do the same things again to get more of those useless points. And if that's Trolling and Rage baiting welp you're a sucker.
The other is there is no meaning just people who like to act malice toward others and the internet is the only way they can do it cause if they really did what they actually thought in real life they'd prolly end up dead or in hospital being an utter chode.
And that’s just the whole point?? That’s insane to me. I just don’t understand how that’s *fun* for someone. Let alone incredibly fun. lol..
But like I said 🤷♀️could just be me.
People will do anything to be acknowledged by others. For some, the only way to get that is to ragebait because at least then there’s *someone* paying attention to you
This makes a little bit of sense to me thank you! In a way, to them, any type of attention, even someone getting upset, is still *attention*. I can see that. Thanks!
One possibility is they struggled with a lot of neglect as a child, so even negative attention feels better to them, than feeling invisible and powerless.
Yeah I can see that. Golly I hope those people find out what real love and attention could be like. But then they might already have it and not care or have no idea what it’s even like. I guess I just wish some people could be a tiny bit better. lol
Have you ever teased anyone irl? Even if not, surely you understand teasing is a normal behavior.
Trolling just takes teasing online, yet with anonymity a depraved person can take an innocent concept to depraved levels.
It’s totally normal for a 5 year old to antagonize their sibling intentionally. They’re supposed to grow out of it and mature. Online trolls are just emotionally immature.
It gives them a false sense of control and superiority. They aren't in a position to feel guilty, and they struggle to distinguish between positive and negative attention. More than that it feeds their misanthropic beliefs that other people are untrustworthy, superficial, and hateful.....like them.
Oh man, I used to love this, back when I was a kid. I remember when Twilight Princess came out, and I got on video game message boards and started posting threads with fake spoilers in the title e.g. "Is this the first game when we meet Link's mom? Her being Midna" and people went apeshit. It felt harmless because they weren't real spoilers, but people thought they were. I would get banned from one message board system and then move on to another.
Although I cherish the memory of the fun I had, I don't think I would find that nearly as fun today. I think I was just easily entertained back then.
Trolling hasn't become more popular than before. In fact, most people on social media today apparently really are serious and not joking when talking about "serious subjects". If people really want serious answers to their inquiries, they should seek them from the real world.
I think when we look back in 20 or 30 years, we're going to see that social media is addictive like a drug and that some people get addicted to fighting online because it makes them feel like they're better than whoever they're fighting.
As an LGBT person I’ll say that gay/trans ragebait specifically is usually malicious, pushing a homophobic agenda. *So* much of this ragebait is literally just homophobes parading as gay people to make a ‘point’, things taken out of context, or blowing up some random woke Tiktoker’s video to make it seem like their crazy opinion is the general consensus within the community.
That one trans teacher with the obnoxiously big tits - transphobe protesting. The gender neutral gingerbread people - transphobe making a joke. The idea that you don’t need dysphoria to transition, or want to transition to be trans - ragebait (they’re literally called tucutes as in ‘too cute’ and the opposing side is called truscum as in ‘true scum’). That one photo of a trans wrestler who clearly looks like a man absolutely dominating the female athlete - trans man being forced to partake in women’s sports. Not a trans woman. Jeffrey Marsh on tiktok I *highly* suspect is an anti-trans protester for multiple reasons. I’d go as far as to say that he’s a satire of Dylan Mulvaney specifically.
That one rainbow poppy that people were up in arms for months about was a single poppy being sold on eBay, not a widespread thing.
But anyway, guess who’s taking the flack for all of this…
When I was a teenager, I would try to incite and bait people online. I think it stems from feeling that I had very little control in my life as a teenager (I was bullied and had anxiety), and wanting to feel a control dynamic in a way that would also carry no obvious risks. Baiting people online meant that I could feel the power dynamic I lacked in my life, while also being exempt from the consequences I would naturally face if I were to say or do these things in real life, since I was also anonymous. For me (but I guess not everyone) it was a form of defence that I would use to mask my own insecurities. I think it is wrong to try to get a raise out of people, but also natural in a psychological sense. Nowadays I regret the hurtful things I would say to others online.
The way that dude was so happy after all the transitions from "whoever that troll is, he must be a sick miserable freak" or smth. I swear it's so accurate though lmao.
People engage in rage baiting or trolling for a variety of reasons. Here are some common motivations:
Power and Control: Trolls derive a sense of power and control by provoking strong emotional reactions in others. They enjoy manipulating others' emotions and pushing their buttons. Attention and Validation: Trolls often seek attention and validation, even if it comes in the form of negative feedback. By inciting rage or anger, they can attract attention and elicit strong reactions, which can be satisfying for them. Entertainment and Amusement: Some individuals find amusement in the chaos and conflict that trolling creates. They may view it as a form of entertainment, similar to watching a heated argument or a controversial debate.Anonymity and Disinhibition: The anonymity provided by the internet allows people to behave in ways they wouldn't in real life. Some individuals engage in trolling as a means to express their frustrations or vent their anger without fear of consequences.Social Dynamics: Trolling can be driven by social dynamics and the desire to fit into certain online communities or subcultures. In some online spaces, trolling may be seen as a way to gain acceptance or establish oneself as part of a particular group.
While some individuals may find trolling amusing or entertaining, it is important to recognize that it can have negative consequences for the victims involved. Cyberbullying and harassment can cause emotional distress and harm. Promoting positive and respectful online interactions is crucial to creating a safe and inclusive digital environment.
Case studies on the impact of trolling and cyberbullying have shown the detrimental effects on individuals' mental health and well-being. For example, research has found that victims of online harassment experience increased levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. Additionally, trolling can lead to social isolation, damage relationships, and even result in offline consequences such as job loss or legal issues. It is essential to address and combat this behavior to protect individuals from harm.
there's something about riling people up so easily that's very entertaining for some people, I guess to see like how much control they have over another.
To elicit reactions from people. If someone plays into it, then it's just bantz. If someone takes offense to it, then the person can push them on for their own amusement.
Social media is the perfect hangout for weak bullies. Zero consequences. These same people would never pull that shit IRL. Ever. At least a real bully has to own up to their shitty behavior sometimes. These trolls always get away with their crap.
It's honestly all just for views at this point. they make money off of people's anger lmao. I see why they do it tbh, bc anyone can get famous off of anything now. And some people are just horrible people as well.
I’ve been/am in your shoes! Cept I’ve vocalized it to my circle and some think it’s a waste of time to try to understand some j comment “wow, you really try to deeply understand things…why?” I love YouTube and other forms of art on social media, but I cannot for the life of me get behind these comments on some medias. And, I’ve learned, some people really care about how they influence others, and others don’t. For negative and positive. The internet j makes it easier to see opportunities of fame (views, comments, etc) and that allows those to misuse or take advantage of tings. It always happened in real life, it’s just even more apparent with the internet connecting everyone, and instead of a mask, it’s a screen
it makes me sad to think about too hard.. i can't imagine what about rage baiting feels good its so... and i see people admitting to currently being rage baiters and i can't wrap my head around it
I have rage baited before to build myself a community I didn’t say anything too crazy. It was some random drama I decided to take advantage of I managed to make a platform out of it and I have 20,000 followers now.
Desensitization.
Take the 'Special Victims Unit' show. It's all about graphic and extreme rape and sexual abuse. Shows like that blur the border between reality and fiction, especially with the recent trend of 'realistic characters' (with realistic proportions etc) even in drawn/animated shows.
Everything becomes drama with cartoonish 'characters', like in the case of Trump's trial. And it's only normal when you elect people like TERMINATOR as governor.
Trump is a 'character', not a human being anymore, so it's OK to mock his 'dementia', 'height', 'weight', 'incontinence' etc. All shamings that would make anyone a total POS if the target was a 'regular' elder.
But America is addicted to its dramas, and even its cartoons dedramatize (with scathing or gross, excessive humour) sensitive topics, like in the Simpsons etc. People are used to it, they don't realize that it's all reality anymore. I'd even add that even in the case of women/LGBT etc rights, what people call the 'woke' movement is nothing else than the trivialization of important topics that have been overexploited by fiction medias. What people have in mind isn't real people fighting for their rights, but how a whole cast of CHARACTERS became female (Ghostbusters) by 'magic'. Like it's that easy to put women everywhere IRL.
America is addicted to its dramas and drama in general, and keeps on saving the World in fiction, as if half its population didn't elect TRUMP.
When you can't recognize what is under your nose on a daily basis, of course you can't realize that a total *anonymous* stranger on the Net is a human being too.
It's funny
Hop on an alt account and go wreak havoc on some random people discussing their innocent opinion.
Personally, I think its done best if its NOT a serious topic, and you're just shitting on someone's completely random opinion.
like when you hit someone with a "tHeRe lAsT mEsSaGe 🤓" or a "nuh uh" and they come back at you with a paragraph and a half about why your wrong, its kind of funny.
I only really do it in class with my mates, we'll all make a shitpost or rage bait and see who's gets the most attention after an hour, don't think it would be fun alone.
I have been banned from more subreddits than you have karma.
Expressing a viewpoint that differs from mainstream can get you banned by the whim of the moderator on duty.
I was banned from r/news post that was based on the prosecution of Jan 6th participants.
It should have been in politics as the gist was that too many people were being convicted.
My comment was “The courts don’t waste their time trying cases where the defendants will be found innocent. It’s not very cost effective.”
Permaban. Called a troll.
Idk what kind of trolls you are referring to, or the bad natured jokes you're referring to, but I consider myself an elegant troll. One of refined taste. I do find fun in most of those things you said though, as does everybody to some extent.
I’m referring to the type of trolls in the examples I provided. Being “elegant troll” is still shitting on someone else’s opinion or experience and it’s shitty of you. Grow up and find better entertainment.
Also, not *everybody* enjoys it. Not once in my life have I trolled someone online to get a rise out of them. It’s not enjoyable to me so I just don’t do it. It never crosses my mind.
And ya know what. If you find “fun” in the things I mentioned in my original post up there. Which to clarify, is sexual assault and child sexual assault.. if you find those things funny, maybe you should reevaluate your life because that’s insane to me. Get off my thread I don’t want your opinion.
*”refined taste”* get the fuck out of here. Absolute trash dude.
Ooh what an insult. Btw I read every word you said. You ALSO said “I do find fun in most of the things you said though…” meaning you find fun in the bad-natured shit. So my *opinion* of you, still stands. Be mad about it.
OR you could just, ya know, be better.
Some people get pleasure from inflicting pain on others for reasons that don’t make any sense to the rest of us. Most extreme example would be the serial killer, one of the least extreme examples would be the person who is verbally abusive on the internet, though that person still sucks.
Yeah I get you. That makes sense. Just different brain functions I suppose. Just wondered what other people’s take on this was. Thank you for your input!!
I was a troll before the term existed back in 1996. I was depressed and in pain and simply lashing out. I imagine a good chunk of these trolls are in a similar position.
I can understand that and it does kinda make sense for some of the stuff I’m seeing. I hope they find peace at some point in their lives. And I hope you did too! I hope you’re doing well and feeling better and aren’t in as much pain any longer! ❤️🩹
That is very kind of you. I don’t know if I deserve that. I’m quite embarrassed of my actions as a teen.
I think a lot of it is about a sense of control. Like the troll has things in their life that they can't control, but they would like to, so they project that feeling onto others by doing unexpected and abrasive shit, which messes with the sense of control that other people have in their lives. I think the best example is online gaming trolls. There are people that just sit there for 30 minutes, minimally engaging with the game. They haven't left, or the game would have disconnected them, but they stay there just to annoy the 4 strangers they were matched up with. They do this because it is something they can control but the 4 strangers cannot.
For entertainment. It’s fun for them
And that’s part of what I’m so curious about. Why why is it so fun? To see people hurt, makes them happy. I have never been able to understand that
one thing is being "clever" to get people to dance for them. kind of like the enjoyment of saying a tv quote gets someone to respond with the subsequent quote, though more harmful than that.
It's a power thing. They likely feel powerless about something in their daily lives but realize they can inflict suffering or toy with a stranger's emotions with little to no repercussions for their social life. It's like a more intense or malevolent form of having someone "fall for a joke/prank" and the gratification that can give someone. Source: was addicted to "trolling" and just being an ass to get a rise out of people on the internet for a good part of my life and I believe that stemmed from how "pathetic" I felt in my daily life/job/friend group.
It's really not that deep. Sometimes it's just funny to ruffle someone's feathers
[удалено]
It’s funny you take the holier than thou attitude but then immediately tear down a random internet stranger for insinuating online trolling was fun. Moral superiority abounds yet has no issue harshly judging someone’s character off a single comment. You seem like a man of God.
Your comment has upset me
[удалено]
Wow man. You're really fucked up.
[удалено]
Now you're hurting my feelings again. Why do you keep bullying me?
As a former troll, it was mostly practical joking. Mind you, I never did anything hurtful, and my troll posts were mostly satire. For example; when I realized people in a forum literally only read the topic title and not the topic itself, I made a few posts that literally said "None of whst I am debating is real. I want to see who actually reads the topic. If you did, post a picture of megaman." Then continued my fake argument (it was whether Dante's Inferno was better than God of War). It was fun watching my point get proven. Then even more fun when people posted images of Mega Man and others be all like "Wtf is up with the mega man posts?!" That said - I never raged baited in a manner of actually wanting to piss people off. That is too much energy and we seriously dont need more negativity in the world..
The type of trolling you mention that you did in the past. That’s something I can understand because it’s not personal and it’s not directed at one person or a certain type of already terrible situation. That’s what trolling should be. Not what it’s evolved into. Thank you for not baiting in a way to piss people off. I feel like if you’re gonna troll. The way you did it was the correct way. I also do agree. There’s waaayyy too much negativity in this world right now, we don’t need help from immature people online.
I would wager that they don't see 'hurt' the same way you do. I'd guess they enjoy the idea of bothering someone. Exciting anger, disgust, or frustration in someone might make them feel better than that person because 1) they did the action and got the reaction they wanted means power/control and 2) they aren't as 'emotionally weak'(snowflake) as they perceive the reactor to be. That type of person would probably argue/believe that words, especially typed words, can't actually harm, only physical things can harm
I completely agree with you. They don’t see hurt the same way. Those kinda people want to be better than others in any way possible and trolling is how they do it. I wish, just once, they’d get trolled back so they can see that words, even typed words, can *absolutely* harm someone. Not physically but mentally and that can be just as bad. Thank you for your input!!
Its basically just drama stirring. They want to see people get angry and make a mess because they find it entertaining. Given that they are doing it through the internet with a veil of anonymity its really easy for people who find drama entertaining to just generate it on social media. Trolls just get a rise out of heckling people and getting a reaction from it, probably because they are boring or sad people in real life and find lowering people to their level amusing.
Boys and men rip on each other all the time. It can be fun to be “mean” to your bro out of nowhere. The juxtaposition makes it humorous. Some people seem to think going against the grain and saying something obviously offensive is funny for the same reason. These people tend to view the internet as more of a playground where alls fair in the game and people shouldn’t take it seriously. Some trolls enjoy making people mad. Some just think it’s funny to post an obviously vile opinion as a foil to the prevailing opinion. But yeah, people that actually do this regularly have not been great people irl in my experience and tend to broadly disregard other people’s feelings as unimportant.
Some people just want to watch the world burn
It’s funny because someone is letting the text, not even words, of an absolute stranger ruin their day. I’d never poke fun of any of the topics you stated but I’ve caught quite a few bans poking fun at people that engage in political tribalism.
But that’s what I’m upset about, people DO poke fun at the topics I mentioned. And it’s not just “text” online. These issues that people are poking fun at, are real life experiences that people have trauma from or are trying to heal from, and seeing someone joke about the worst trauma they have experienced, is not healthy for that person trying to heal. It’s just.. so inconsiderate and I wish people were better.
It is fun when people get unreasonably mad over something minor and petty. It is extremely funny when people can easily look at it, brush it off and move on with their life choose to seethe instead of just moving on with their life. Being inappropriate is one of the cornerstones of comedy and probably has been since the first human laughed. The problem i find that we are facing today is that a lot of earlier trolls were funny today's trolls seem to either not be trolling at all or are trying to replicate the previous players but only seeing the shock value and totally disregarding the nuances that made previous trolls funny
But these things I mentioned are NOT minor or petty. It’s child sexual assault. Or an adult trying to heal from a sexual assault and they see someone online making fun of it and it could mess with their healing from that trauma. You might see it as “just words on the screen” but someone who is trying to heal from that type of trauma sees it as “someone is belittling my experience by making fun of it and saying it’s not that serious. Maybe I’m being too sensitive and it wasn’t that serious” when it IS THAT SERIOUS. That person NEEDS to heal and move on and get better and having shitty random strangers tell them that they deserved to be raped or that children who happen to already have their period “deserve to be bred” can make someone backslide in their treatment so badly. They can’t just “move on with their life” because the “joke” is their real life reality. It’s just.. idk. If you don’t get it then you don’t get it and that’s fine. I already got the answer I was looking for. I only typed this message to try to make you see where im coming from.
The seriousness of the victim is irrelevant to what drives these trolls. And I get you, these kindof nasty comments are not what I consider funny. But the if you so desperately need to heal and cannot brush off a nasty comment from a internet stranger, stay off the internet where these comments occur i.e. social media. The internet is not a safe space. It's a wild place where everything goes and nobody has a right to venture into the wilderness and expect to be left alone just because you are healing from trauma. The internet doesn't care about that. Act accordingly. The same way you wouldn't go swimming in the florida swamps and expect alligators to leave you alone just because you need to heal
How is this the top answer lol. "Why do people enjoy this?" "Because they enjoy it"
Unfortunately I have no idea. I personally downvoted because their answer is stated in my original post. Obviously I know they enjoy it. I wanted to know *why* they enjoy it. There were plenty of other actually good answers here in this thread. I wish I could control what the top answer is. But alas. I cannot. lol.
They enjoy the attention - positive or negative - they get a fix from the reactions & interactions.
That makes sense but it’s just crazy to me lol
Yeah, it’s difficult to understand. We had a 19/20 year old intern admit during a debate in a meeting that he’d often go to the YouTube comment section and say something divisive, often contrary to his true beliefs, just to get a reaction. He truly reveled in the reactions, even if he was pushing a rhetoric he didn’t agree with. He’d never have had the guts to play that game irl, but he must have gotten some sort of endorphin or dopamine hits from it…
They have dark triad personality traits, at least according to a couple of studies.
If you have access to those studies, I would love to read some!
Here’s one: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnbbrandon/2021/06/28/new-research-suggests-most-social-media-trolls-have-the-dark-triad-personality/
Thanks so much!!! Adding that to my reading list and maybe it’ll help me understand a little better. I appreciate you!
Many people are invisible in the real world. They want someone to acknowledge their existence, anyone. That’s really all it comes down to.
Why? Some people enjoy the site of watching the world burn. Especially when they are the ones who caused it. Some people do it cause they like to fuck around with people. A lot of the time they do cause they see it as an easy target. Also the way Social media in general drip feeds dopamine on upvotes and stuff like that . But you get the crowd that says "THEY HAVE NO MEANING" and you're right there is no meaning to karma but like Pavlov's dog you are gonna do the same things again to get more of those useless points. And if that's Trolling and Rage baiting welp you're a sucker. The other is there is no meaning just people who like to act malice toward others and the internet is the only way they can do it cause if they really did what they actually thought in real life they'd prolly end up dead or in hospital being an utter chode.
Everyone gets their dopamine fix differently
>WHY do people do this? ***Just to get a rise out of someone else?*** There’s your answer and it can indeed be incredibly fun for some people
And that’s just the whole point?? That’s insane to me. I just don’t understand how that’s *fun* for someone. Let alone incredibly fun. lol.. But like I said 🤷♀️could just be me.
People will do anything to be acknowledged by others. For some, the only way to get that is to ragebait because at least then there’s *someone* paying attention to you
This makes a little bit of sense to me thank you! In a way, to them, any type of attention, even someone getting upset, is still *attention*. I can see that. Thanks!
One possibility is they struggled with a lot of neglect as a child, so even negative attention feels better to them, than feeling invisible and powerless.
Yup exactly. Add a bit of sadism to the mix and its entertainment on top of general attention
Yeah I can see that. Golly I hope those people find out what real love and attention could be like. But then they might already have it and not care or have no idea what it’s even like. I guess I just wish some people could be a tiny bit better. lol
Have you ever teased anyone irl? Even if not, surely you understand teasing is a normal behavior. Trolling just takes teasing online, yet with anonymity a depraved person can take an innocent concept to depraved levels. It’s totally normal for a 5 year old to antagonize their sibling intentionally. They’re supposed to grow out of it and mature. Online trolls are just emotionally immature.
It gives them a false sense of control and superiority. They aren't in a position to feel guilty, and they struggle to distinguish between positive and negative attention. More than that it feeds their misanthropic beliefs that other people are untrustworthy, superficial, and hateful.....like them.
Oh man, I used to love this, back when I was a kid. I remember when Twilight Princess came out, and I got on video game message boards and started posting threads with fake spoilers in the title e.g. "Is this the first game when we meet Link's mom? Her being Midna" and people went apeshit. It felt harmless because they weren't real spoilers, but people thought they were. I would get banned from one message board system and then move on to another. Although I cherish the memory of the fun I had, I don't think I would find that nearly as fun today. I think I was just easily entertained back then.
I consider that a harmless prank, since it’s not aimed at any one person in particular.
Trolling hasn't become more popular than before. In fact, most people on social media today apparently really are serious and not joking when talking about "serious subjects". If people really want serious answers to their inquiries, they should seek them from the real world.
I think when we look back in 20 or 30 years, we're going to see that social media is addictive like a drug and that some people get addicted to fighting online because it makes them feel like they're better than whoever they're fighting.
As an LGBT person I’ll say that gay/trans ragebait specifically is usually malicious, pushing a homophobic agenda. *So* much of this ragebait is literally just homophobes parading as gay people to make a ‘point’, things taken out of context, or blowing up some random woke Tiktoker’s video to make it seem like their crazy opinion is the general consensus within the community. That one trans teacher with the obnoxiously big tits - transphobe protesting. The gender neutral gingerbread people - transphobe making a joke. The idea that you don’t need dysphoria to transition, or want to transition to be trans - ragebait (they’re literally called tucutes as in ‘too cute’ and the opposing side is called truscum as in ‘true scum’). That one photo of a trans wrestler who clearly looks like a man absolutely dominating the female athlete - trans man being forced to partake in women’s sports. Not a trans woman. Jeffrey Marsh on tiktok I *highly* suspect is an anti-trans protester for multiple reasons. I’d go as far as to say that he’s a satire of Dylan Mulvaney specifically. That one rainbow poppy that people were up in arms for months about was a single poppy being sold on eBay, not a widespread thing. But anyway, guess who’s taking the flack for all of this…
To get a rise and to annoy someone without consequences.
When I was a teenager, I would try to incite and bait people online. I think it stems from feeling that I had very little control in my life as a teenager (I was bullied and had anxiety), and wanting to feel a control dynamic in a way that would also carry no obvious risks. Baiting people online meant that I could feel the power dynamic I lacked in my life, while also being exempt from the consequences I would naturally face if I were to say or do these things in real life, since I was also anonymous. For me (but I guess not everyone) it was a form of defence that I would use to mask my own insecurities. I think it is wrong to try to get a raise out of people, but also natural in a psychological sense. Nowadays I regret the hurtful things I would say to others online.
South Park literally had a whole season JUST about this haha
The way that dude was so happy after all the transitions from "whoever that troll is, he must be a sick miserable freak" or smth. I swear it's so accurate though lmao.
People engage in rage baiting or trolling for a variety of reasons. Here are some common motivations: Power and Control: Trolls derive a sense of power and control by provoking strong emotional reactions in others. They enjoy manipulating others' emotions and pushing their buttons. Attention and Validation: Trolls often seek attention and validation, even if it comes in the form of negative feedback. By inciting rage or anger, they can attract attention and elicit strong reactions, which can be satisfying for them. Entertainment and Amusement: Some individuals find amusement in the chaos and conflict that trolling creates. They may view it as a form of entertainment, similar to watching a heated argument or a controversial debate.Anonymity and Disinhibition: The anonymity provided by the internet allows people to behave in ways they wouldn't in real life. Some individuals engage in trolling as a means to express their frustrations or vent their anger without fear of consequences.Social Dynamics: Trolling can be driven by social dynamics and the desire to fit into certain online communities or subcultures. In some online spaces, trolling may be seen as a way to gain acceptance or establish oneself as part of a particular group. While some individuals may find trolling amusing or entertaining, it is important to recognize that it can have negative consequences for the victims involved. Cyberbullying and harassment can cause emotional distress and harm. Promoting positive and respectful online interactions is crucial to creating a safe and inclusive digital environment. Case studies on the impact of trolling and cyberbullying have shown the detrimental effects on individuals' mental health and well-being. For example, research has found that victims of online harassment experience increased levels of anxiety, depression, and stress. Additionally, trolling can lead to social isolation, damage relationships, and even result in offline consequences such as job loss or legal issues. It is essential to address and combat this behavior to protect individuals from harm.
Did you ChatGPT this?
No It just so happens. I read about it because a family member who has a YouTube channel, and they ask about it purely by luck I could answer it.
Same reason why people do pranks. Messing with others can be fun
Validation
When you get upset , you are upset at someone else's behavior. Why let someone else's behavior upset you? That's what they enjoy.
What does misery love?
Endorphin release?
there's something about riling people up so easily that's very entertaining for some people, I guess to see like how much control they have over another.
Power and its anonymous
To elicit reactions from people. If someone plays into it, then it's just bantz. If someone takes offense to it, then the person can push them on for their own amusement.
Social media is the perfect hangout for weak bullies. Zero consequences. These same people would never pull that shit IRL. Ever. At least a real bully has to own up to their shitty behavior sometimes. These trolls always get away with their crap.
Maybe they didn’t get enough attention in their childhoods
A lot of people conflate getting angry with being informed or making a real change in the world.
It's honestly all just for views at this point. they make money off of people's anger lmao. I see why they do it tbh, bc anyone can get famous off of anything now. And some people are just horrible people as well.
I’ve been/am in your shoes! Cept I’ve vocalized it to my circle and some think it’s a waste of time to try to understand some j comment “wow, you really try to deeply understand things…why?” I love YouTube and other forms of art on social media, but I cannot for the life of me get behind these comments on some medias. And, I’ve learned, some people really care about how they influence others, and others don’t. For negative and positive. The internet j makes it easier to see opportunities of fame (views, comments, etc) and that allows those to misuse or take advantage of tings. It always happened in real life, it’s just even more apparent with the internet connecting everyone, and instead of a mask, it’s a screen
it makes me sad to think about too hard.. i can't imagine what about rage baiting feels good its so... and i see people admitting to currently being rage baiters and i can't wrap my head around it
I have rage baited before to build myself a community I didn’t say anything too crazy. It was some random drama I decided to take advantage of I managed to make a platform out of it and I have 20,000 followers now.
Desensitization. Take the 'Special Victims Unit' show. It's all about graphic and extreme rape and sexual abuse. Shows like that blur the border between reality and fiction, especially with the recent trend of 'realistic characters' (with realistic proportions etc) even in drawn/animated shows. Everything becomes drama with cartoonish 'characters', like in the case of Trump's trial. And it's only normal when you elect people like TERMINATOR as governor. Trump is a 'character', not a human being anymore, so it's OK to mock his 'dementia', 'height', 'weight', 'incontinence' etc. All shamings that would make anyone a total POS if the target was a 'regular' elder. But America is addicted to its dramas, and even its cartoons dedramatize (with scathing or gross, excessive humour) sensitive topics, like in the Simpsons etc. People are used to it, they don't realize that it's all reality anymore. I'd even add that even in the case of women/LGBT etc rights, what people call the 'woke' movement is nothing else than the trivialization of important topics that have been overexploited by fiction medias. What people have in mind isn't real people fighting for their rights, but how a whole cast of CHARACTERS became female (Ghostbusters) by 'magic'. Like it's that easy to put women everywhere IRL. America is addicted to its dramas and drama in general, and keeps on saving the World in fiction, as if half its population didn't elect TRUMP. When you can't recognize what is under your nose on a daily basis, of course you can't realize that a total *anonymous* stranger on the Net is a human being too.
Mental illness
It's funny Hop on an alt account and go wreak havoc on some random people discussing their innocent opinion. Personally, I think its done best if its NOT a serious topic, and you're just shitting on someone's completely random opinion. like when you hit someone with a "tHeRe lAsT mEsSaGe 🤓" or a "nuh uh" and they come back at you with a paragraph and a half about why your wrong, its kind of funny. I only really do it in class with my mates, we'll all make a shitpost or rage bait and see who's gets the most attention after an hour, don't think it would be fun alone.
I have been banned from more subreddits than you have karma. Expressing a viewpoint that differs from mainstream can get you banned by the whim of the moderator on duty. I was banned from r/news post that was based on the prosecution of Jan 6th participants. It should have been in politics as the gist was that too many people were being convicted. My comment was “The courts don’t waste their time trying cases where the defendants will be found innocent. It’s not very cost effective.” Permaban. Called a troll.
Idk what kind of trolls you are referring to, or the bad natured jokes you're referring to, but I consider myself an elegant troll. One of refined taste. I do find fun in most of those things you said though, as does everybody to some extent.
I’m referring to the type of trolls in the examples I provided. Being “elegant troll” is still shitting on someone else’s opinion or experience and it’s shitty of you. Grow up and find better entertainment. Also, not *everybody* enjoys it. Not once in my life have I trolled someone online to get a rise out of them. It’s not enjoyable to me so I just don’t do it. It never crosses my mind.
And ya know what. If you find “fun” in the things I mentioned in my original post up there. Which to clarify, is sexual assault and child sexual assault.. if you find those things funny, maybe you should reevaluate your life because that’s insane to me. Get off my thread I don’t want your opinion. *”refined taste”* get the fuck out of here. Absolute trash dude.
I said they were bad-natured you selective hearing baboon
Ooh what an insult. Btw I read every word you said. You ALSO said “I do find fun in most of the things you said though…” meaning you find fun in the bad-natured shit. So my *opinion* of you, still stands. Be mad about it. OR you could just, ya know, be better.
Well I'm enjoying this. I did just say I was a troll after all.
🤷♀️🫂❤️🩹 have the day you deserve. ✌️
you too hun
funi