Trolling Therapeutics

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*Schadenfreude*
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Morose delectation emblematizes one of the more lurid aspects of human nature. Heh heh. Okay, enough dick-slapping you with the vocab. Let’s proceed in simple terms, shall we? Some people passively gain joy from the pain, anguish, frustration and despair of others. Not only that, there are those who actively seek to elicit these emotions from others. In real life we know them as “dicks.” In the online world, we know them as trolls.

Various theories have been put forth to explain the phenomena. Low self-esteem is a usual suspect and shows up early in the line-up. More surprisingly, the phenomenon has been aligned to the male gender. Yep, in one study it was shown that “in male subjects the brain's pleasure centers also lit up when someone else got a shock that the male thought was well-deserved.” Well, that explains all those “man hit in groin with object X” videos. Let’s move on.

Brain-scanning studies show that schadenfreude is correlated with envy. Here we go. This one hits home. Very few of us can afford to play every console and game under the sun. Even when we can, we lack the time to pursue this most noble undertaking. At the heart of most trolling is the desire to reconcile this lost opportunity. Denial is the answer that most manage to conjure. An electronic version of the fox and the grapes - one desires something, finds it unattainable, and reduces one's dissonance by criticizing it. Trolling is born.

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*MASOCHISM 101*
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Do we like being trolled? I seriously have to question this. You hear people constantly complaining of trolling, but the solution is simple. Just close the tab. But instead, people clamor for moderation, for the removal of the troll. Why? People like being outraged. We enjoy intense emotions. They like it even more when their outrage is shared by others, an inevitability on this site. It gives validity and weight to their opinions and some measure of justification and importance. Hell, some people have made a living by exploiting this desire to be outraged. (See FOX News).

PS
I really miss the “ignore user” option that was available on this site many moons ago. Its removal seem to be an effort to encourage trolling and hence user activity. On an unrelated note, marijuana use really does make you paranoid.

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* TRIBALISM *
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I’ve already dealt with this previously in more detail. People like belonging to group, it builds a sense of identity. When a troll occurs, despite knowing the natural course of the discourse to follow, people jump right in to respond. The response encourages other responses from tribe members, or, at the very least, “agrees”. See, it’s the sense of community and camaraderie that is really being sought. Its lonely under the bridge all by yourself. Every now and then you need to pop your hear out and find a friend, who happens to also be a dick. Trolling in itself achieves nothing. No one switches sides as a result. In fact, the exact opposite happens. Groups dig their heel in deeper, and become even more polarized.

The cathartic qualities associated with trolling and being trolled is undeniable. It's fun to be a dick sometimes. At the end of the day, internet trolling is a pretty safe way to vent some anger behind the safety and security of a modem. When all is said and done, more is said than done.