Chamblee54

A couple of tweeters were helping Psychology Today harvest eyeballs. ‏@chescaleigh according to @PsychToday “Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists” & water is wet.” @pourmecoffee “Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists”
The tweets linked to a post, Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists. Sponsors include the FREE U.S.-Israel Flag Pin, and “These foods Kill your Brain.”
PG has been called a troll before. The people who say that usually argue with you, and then cry troll when you fight back. It is a passive aggressive game. There are probably more extreme examples, but the sense is that people ask for it. No, this is not rape. These is internet comments from people who do not praise you enough. The emperor’s tailor considered the little boy a troll.
PT has a different perspective. “In this month’s issue of Personality and Individual Differences, a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: internet trolls are horrible people. Let’s start by getting our definitions straight. An internet troll is someone who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the conversation. Often, it seems like there is no real purpose behind their comments except to upset everyone else involved. Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response. What kind of person would do this?
Canadian researchers decided to find out. They conducted two internet studies with over 1,200 people. They gave personality tests to each subject along with a survey about their internet commenting behavior. They were looking for evidence that linked trolling with the Dark Tetrad of personality: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadistic personality.”
OK, so they were looking for evidence to confirm a previously held opinion. Is that how the scientific method works these days? Define your villain to fit the characteristics you have picked out for him. When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
The supporting study is from the University of Manitoba, and has the racy title Trolls just want to have fun. The link shows you an abstract, and a chance to buy the complete study for $35.95. The last line of the abstract: “Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism.”
By now, you may be worried that you, too, are a troll. Do you live under a bridge? Are you glamor challenged? Or maybe you are the troll king, and write trilogies in your spare time.
PT is aware of your concerns. Fun loving correspondent Jennifer Golbeck, Ph.D., comes through with Are You an Internet Troll? This peace of mind reassurance is sponsored by the 3 minute Chakra test, and YOU MAY BE INFECTED.
“… A lot of people commented about their own internet behavior, wondering if their provocative comments count as “trolling.” …. Fortunately, there is a technical answer to those questions! … In the same study from yesterday, the authors introduced a measure of someone’s trolliness (that’s my term, not theirs).(Spell check suggestions: woolliness, jolliness, solitariness) They call it the Global Assessment of Internet Trolling (GAIT). Subjects in their study were shown these four statements:
1 – I have sent people to shock websites for the lulz.
2 – I like to troll people in forums or the comments section of websites.
3 – I enjoy griefing other players in multiplayer games.
4 – The more beautiful and pure a thing is, the more satisfying it is to corrupt.”
Your agreement, or disagreement, with these statements is an indication of your trolliness. PG definitely feels better after seeing this test. He does not know what a shock website is, and does not indulge in multiplayer games. The idea of someone like Matt Walsh being “beautiful and pure” is ridiculous. PG will rest easy tonight, knowing that he probably is not an internet troll. Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.