A Canadian study has finally confirmed what many have suspected for a long time: something is rotten in the minds of trolls.
The results indicate that sadistic, psychopathic, narcissistic and Machiavellian characteristics are exceptionally strong among Internet trolls.
The researchers from three Canadian universities recruited volunteers online and among the students of their universities and posed them questions designed to assess the darker human character traits.
The respondents were requested to evaluate how strongly they agreed with statements such as "it is not wise to reveal your secrets", "revenge should be swift and mean" and "hurting people is exciting". These questions are designed to measure the strength of manipulative, or Machiavellian, psychopathic and sadistic character traits.
After completing the personality test, the volunteers answered questions on their Internet behaviour, including how frequently they commented online and whether they preferred trolling.
The results showed that most people only read online discussions without taking part in them.
The five per cent of the respondents who were classified as trolls also received the highest scores for sadistic, psychopathic, narcissistic and Machiavellian characteristics.
In another study, the researchers focused on trolls' behaviour patterns and the motivation behind trolling.
The volunteers were again asked to assess various claims, including "I enjoy trolling people in online discussions", "I like making fun of people in games" and "the more beautiful and pure a thing is, the more satisfying it is to corrupt".
As expected, the respondents with the highest scores for the darkest human character traits also enjoyed trolling the most. As the researchers summed it up, trolls just want to have fun.
Trolling enjoyment showed the strongest association with sadism, prompting the researchers to conclude that "the Internet is a sadists' playground where they come to have fun".
Jani Kaaro – HS
Niina Woolley – HT
