95. The Psychopathology of Internet Trolls

Written By Alienist Entertainment

After CrimeCon 2022, we were inspired to dive into the research to see what psychological makeup is present with individuals who engage in online trolling and harassment, especially victims of tragedies and their families.

Resources

  • Agencies, Staff and. “California’s Kobe Bryant Law Bans Photos of the Dead by First Responders.” The Guardian, 29 Sept. 2020, www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/sep/29/california-bans-photos-dead-kobe-bryant-law.

  • Allyn, Bobby. “How One Man’s Fight against an AOL Troll Sealed the Tech Industry’s Power.” NPR.org, 11 May 2021, www.npr.org/2021/05/11/994395889/how-one-mans-fight-against-an-aol-troll-sealed-the-tech-industrys-power. Accessed 6 May 2022.

  • Buckels, Erin E., et al. “Trolls Just Want to Have Fun.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 67, Sept. 2014, pp. 97–102, scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/trolls-just-want-to-have-fun.pdf, 10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.016. Accessed 5 Mar. 2019.

  • Case, C., & King, D. (n.d.). Internet Trolling Victimization: An Empirical Examination of Incidence in Undergraduate Business Students. Research in Higher Education Journal, 34. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1178405.pdf

  • Craker, Naomi, and Evita March. “The Dark Side of Facebook®: The Dark Tetrad, Negative Social Potency, and Trolling Behaviours.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 102, Nov. 2016, pp. 79–84, 10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.043. Accessed 8 May 2019.

  • Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.” Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2019, www.eff.org/issues/cda230. Accessed 6 May 2022.

  • “Father of Sandy Hook Shooting Victim Dies by Apparent Suicide.” NPR.org, 25 Mar. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/03/25/706602331/father-of-sandy-hook-shooting-victim-dies-by-apparent-suicide. Accessed 7 May 2022.

  • Frazier, Ashley Harding, Francine. “Nearly 1 Year after Tristyn Bailey Found Brutally Murdered, Teen Accused in Stabbing Appears in Court.” WJXT, 5 May 2022, www.news4jax.com/news/local/2022/05/05/nearly-1-year-after-tristyn-bailey-found-brutally-murdered-teen-accused-in-stabbing-to-appear-in-court/. Accessed 7 May 2022.

  • Glenn, Sarah. “Teen Accused in the Deadly Stabbing of Tristyn Bailey Appears in Court.” Firstcoastnews.com, 2022, www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/a-year-after-tristyn-baileys-murder-her-accused-killer-appears-in-court/77-d0dacc46-68a7-4981-ac96-e6f50fff41f5. Accessed 7 May 2022.

  • Hardesty, G. (2012, September 26). Mother of teen in grisly photos case writes about cyberbullies. Retrieved May 6, 2022, from Orange County Register website: https://www.ocregister.com/2012/09/26/mother-of-teen-in-grisly-photos-case-writes-about-cyberbullies/

  • Heffernan, V. (2018, March 12). Scrolls, Trolls, and Rickrolls: The Crisis of Online Harassment. Retrieved May 7, 2022, from Wired website: https://www.wired.com/story/history-of-scrolling-rickrolling-and-trolling/

  • https://www.facebook.com/verywell. (2018). Internet Trolls— How to Recognize and Deal with Them. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from Verywell Family website: https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-to-deal-with-internet-trolls-4161018

  • I’ve spoken to some of the world’s worst trolls. Here’s what can help keep your kids safe online - ABC Everyday. (2019, September 23). ABC News. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/keeping-kids-safe-online-tips-from-ginger-gorman/11538478

  • Jankowicz, N. (2022, April 24). A Woman’s Guide to the Most Toxic Trolls on the Internet. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from Wired website: https://www.wired.com/story/womans-guide-toxic-trolls-internet/

  • Lo Bénichou. (2017, August 22). The Web’s Most Toxic Trolls Live in … Vermont? Retrieved May 7, 2022, from Wired website: https://www.wired.com/2017/08/internet-troll-map/Staff. “What We Know about the Death of 13-Year-Old Tristyn Bailey.” The Florida Times-Union, 10 May 2021, www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2021/05/10/tristyn-bailey-what-we-know-death-st-johns-florida-teenager/5022972001/. Accessed 7 May 2022.

  • March, Evita. “Online Trolling Used to Be Funny, but Now the Term Refers to Something Far More Sinister.” The Conversation, 3 Feb. 2019, theconversation.com/online-trolling-used-to-be-funny-but-now-the-term-refers-to-something-far-more-sinister-110272. Accessed 7 May 2022.

  • March, Evita, and Jessica Marrington. “A Qualitative Analysis of Internet Trolling.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 22, no. 3, Mar. 2019, pp. 192–197, 10.1089/cyber.2018.0210. Accessed 28 Sept. 2020.

  • March, Evita, and Genevieve Steele. “High Esteem and Hurting Others Online: Trait Sadism Moderates the Relationship between Self-Esteem and Internet Trolling.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 4 May 2020, 10.1089/cyber.2019.0652.

  • Micolucci, Vic. “Can Social Media Trolls Be Charged with Interfering in Tristyn Bailey Murder Case?” WKMG, 13 May 2021, www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/05/13/can-social-media-trolls-be-charged-with-interfering-in-tristyn-bailey-murder-case/. Accessed 7 May 2022.

  • Night Editor. (2014, August 6). Pregnant Woman Discovers Husband Is Vile Reddit Troll Who Won’t Stop. Retrieved May 6, 2022, from Jezebel website: https://jezebel.com/pregnant-woman-discovers-husband-is-vile-reddit-troll-w-1616741523

  • r/linguistics - Etymology of “Internet troll.” (2022). Retrieved May 7, 2022, from reddit website: https://www.reddit.com/r/linguistics/comments/jnrdh/etymology_of_internet_troll/

  • Razaq, A. (2022, January 17). Top 10 Movies About Cyberbullying Of All Time [2022]. Retrieved May 7, 2022, from Calibbr website: https://calibbr.com/top-10-movies-about-cyberbullying-of-all-time-2022

  • Tugend, Alina. “Why People Remember Negative Events More than Positive Ones.” The New York Times, 23 Mar. 2012, www.nytimes.com/2012/03/24/your-money/why-people-remember-negative-events-more-than-positive-ones.html.Carey, T. (2011, September 23). Internet “trolling”: Investigation into distress of grieving families caused by “trolls.” Retrieved May 7, 2022, from Mail Online website: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2041193/Internet-trolling-Investigation-distress-grieving-families-caused-trolls.html

  • Should Internet Trolling Be a Serious Crime? - Southern California Defense Blog. (2017, February 28). Retrieved May 7, 2022, from Southern California Defense Blog website: https://www.southerncaliforniadefenseblog.com/2017/02/internet-trolling-serious-crime.html

  • Sierra, K. (2014, October 8). Why the Trolls Will Always Win. Retrieved May 7, 2022, from Wired website: https://www.wired.com/2014/10/trolls-will-always-win/

  • stevenson. (2013, October). How To Really Get Rid Of Trolls. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from WIRED website: https://www.wired.com/wiredinsider/2013/10/how-to-really-get-rid-of-trolls/

  • The Trolls are Organized and Everyone’s a Target: The Effects of Online Hate and Harassment. (2019a). Retrieved May 7, 2022, from Anti-Defamation League website: https://www.adl.org/trollsharassment

  • This Pregnant Woman Discovered That Her Husband Is An Internet Troll And Now He Won’t Stop. (2015, August 17). Retrieved May 6, 2022, from Thought Catalog website: https://thoughtcatalog.com/eric-redding/2015/08/bullying-husband/

  • Wikipedia Contributors. (2022, May 4). List of Internet phenomena. Retrieved May 7, 2022, from Wikipedia website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_phenomena

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