By now, everyone knows that sometimes the worst in people comes out when they’re hiding behind their online profiles. But while it’s common for people to express certain thoughts or opinions online that they might be nervous to share in person, there’s a big difference between someone like this and someone who’s intentionally trying to troll others. However, if you can’t spot the difference, it could leave you feeling very agitated when you’re spending time online.
To help you spot these kinds of people and accounts, or to help you teach your elderly loved ones using social media at their senior living communities, here are three tips for spotting trolls online.
Their Account Doesn’t Look Real
When you see an inflammatory comment online, while your instinct might be to respond with some of the vengeance that you feel from what they’ve said, before you take this action, consider if this person or account might be a troll.
To help you determine this, you should take a closer look at their account. Many times, people who troll others, or even bots that are meant to troll people, don’t have accounts that look like real people when you inspect them closely. So if the account doesn’t have any posts or photos, has just recently been made, or only has a handful of followers, there’s a good chance that this account is meant to just tick people off. And if it is, it’s best not to engage.
They Attack Personally
While some people go online to personally attack people, most adults know where the line is. But if you find an account that’s making comments that are taking things too far with their personal attacks, this could very well just be meant to troll people and get a rise out of others.
Especially when people are using blatantly derogatory terms or it seems like the only purpose for their comment is to hurt someone’s feelings or push their hate onto others, it’s plausible that this person just wants to see the chaos they can make in the comment section.
They Seem To Be Baiting People
People who are trying to troll others often get a rush when they can engage people into their debates. And in many cases, the best way to do this is to be contradictory to the extent that people feel the need to correct them or stand up for themselves or others. But with people who are wanting to troll others online, there isn’t a chance that you’ll change their mind, as they just want to see people get heated. So as opposed to giving them what they want, just accept that these people have a problem and move on with your life.
If you’ve had a hard time spotting trolls online and not engaging with them, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you develop this instinct.
