Actually, now that I think about it, I put these people in the same camp with the "Incels". The "Involuntary Celibate". It's a bullshit term made up by a bunch of guys who can't get laid so, they created a movement trying to convince people that women OWE them sex. It's pure horse shit. Rather than looking inward or in a fucking mirror to see what they can do to improve their own image, they place the blame outside themselves and proclaim the entire the world unfair.

And people who troll are angry at not being socially accepted. Rather than focus themselves on trying to get a fucking personality (or at least develop the one they have), they try to ruin shit for everyone else. Or at least for those of whom they are jealous.

I don't think it's a mental disorder. I pity them. They have no self respect so, by default, they have no respect for others.

Personally, I just try to ignore trolls. I don't respond. I try to "like" every comment that gets placed on any of my posts just because I appreciate that you actually replied. That doesn't mean that I agree with the comment. But, if I feel it's troll behavior, I just won't bother to engage it.

I do, however, see that things can sometimes be different for females in social media interactions. (And this is one of the reasons I place trolls in the "Incel" camp.) The vast majority of them are males who see no equality between the genders and they will hammer women with private messages. These are the same assholes who send unsolicited dick pics. And most women I know will engage them because most women are not the heartless banshees that these guys think they are. That only gives them the attention they are craving.

I'm not saying this from a standpoint of egoism. I'm not the best looking guy. I'm not the smartest guy. I'm not the wealthiest guy. I'm not the most talented guy. I'm not the most athletic guy... shit. Now I'm depressed and I forgot where I was going with this...

Oh yes, I remember. These idiots don't know how to interact with people in real life. So, their inability to act properly is amplified online by their anonymity. If all of this was conducted via video connection, you'd never experience any of it.

Okay. End of rant.

There's various levels and some become an indicator of serious problems. If you haven't seen it, watch the multi-part episode of South Park on trolling. It was pretty well done and tackled the issue you bring up in a interesting manner.

I work in mental health as a psychotherapist. That doesn't make my opinion infallible, to be sure. But I do know something of how mental disorders are categorized and diagnoses defined.
My opinion is that the trolling behavior in particular suggests a personality disorder, as opposed to anxiety or mood or psychosisis disorders.
I want to advocate for a new personality disorder designation: A**hole Personality disorder.

There is a sense of anonymity that comes with an online persona. The ability to have an avatar rather than an actual photo of oneself increases that feeling of anonimity. It gives some a sense of power to create chaos in the midst of order. Whether thats a mental disorder or whether its a tendency that most of us actually have within us but still manage to supress is unclear to me.

I don't think being an asshole is a mental illness. We should not classify it as such or they will try to claim disability benefits for it. Talk about adding insult to injury.

Probably a few things. A sense of superiority given license by anonymity &/or distance. Spite & meanness, caused by who knows what. Daddy issues, Mommy issues, small peckers, a sense of inferiority masked by anger. A lack of ability to communicate in any other way, due to any of the above or lack of education/intelligence. I'll admit to the occasional snark & contrariness, but I even do that with my closest friends, here & in RL. I admit to being a bit of an a-hole! But, except for teasing, I'd rather have a good conversation & maybe learn something new!

Yes i do.... i believe that our society would rather discuss meaningful topics and also the subject matter that may relate to who they are and why they are. When i first joined this forum i was enlightened with the famous people that were agnostic and Athiest. I was given reasons to why people accepted this belief. We have slowly drifted away from the core belief discussions. New people are asking questions outside our general structure. I understand the off topic questions and some harmless flirting. Its a good thing. Questions that are asked to stir up trouble need to be avoided. We are a very intelligent group of people. I suggest that we look at these questions and avoid an answer. Understand that certain topics are posted just so that person can jump all over you if your answer is not their answer. There is a button you can push to avoid these people and you will never have to see their trolling posts again. Thats how im going to deal with these selfesh self centered all about them people.

it could well be in some cases. I have a friend I don't speak too anymore because he is a paranoid schizophrenic that I used to be friends with for ages until he started saying and doing some not such nice stuff to me to the point of me having to tell him to fuck off. I don't dislike him and know it's not his fault but I have my own issues with mental health and he was part of the reason I got sectioned. my point being even if people have got mental issues who troll or who do things I'm not happy with I will still block them. I like some people but I'm always going to like myself more. I have had enough crap in my life and just don't need anymore.

I don't think it's a sign of mental illness. It is a possible sign of personality disorder. Personality disorders are not a mental illness.

Mental illness? Possibly. Certainly a low level of social development.

Personality disorders.

Psychopath.

Probably some religious delusions for the ones that preach.

I think there's some twist that makes them want to stir crap rather than join the group and play.

Very lonely and unhappy people who can only feel better by taking others down.

Idk if it is a symptom of mental illness, however, I think it could be a symptom of a weak ego, low self-worth.

Nope?

Like many things trolling is subjective and is case by case.

The atheist may be trolled by a theist that is persistent in telling them god is real, or the theist may be trolled by the atheist persistently asking for evidence.

Narcissistic, manipulating, drama fed sadists. In my opinion, those people are best ignored. They continue to be trolls because people have fed into their behavior. It's really that simple.

[bigthink.com]

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