Nowadays, trolling is no longer just some kind of provocative behavior that causes unnecessary arguments, but also a part of everyday communication. According to Golf-Papez and Veer (2017), “trolling involves deliberate, deceptive and mischievous attempts to provoke reactions from other online users” (p. 1336). People communicate very differently in person and online, and this is partly the reason behind the trolling as a phenomenon. Cook et al. (2017) state that “three key motivations to troll emerged: personal enjoyment, revenge, and thrill-seeking” (p.3323). In the internet, a person is not bound much by the responsibility for their words and actions, and this erases some inner boundaries, subsequently giving way to such behavior as trolling. Moreover, some people try and aggravate other virtual users simply for fun, as they draw pleasure from the sense of impunity.
Whereas in face-to-face communication, trolling would imply a direct challenge to a person – you say provocative things to other person’s face. Thus, you have to hold the responsibility for your words, and be prepared to called out on your opinion, especially if it is provocative. So, yes, people do behave differently on the internet, largely due to the fact that it gives them anonymity to express views they may not be inclined to show publicly.
I have been subject to internet trolling many times, and there is a certain pattern behind the process that I have noticed. More often that not, trolling becomes a communication strategy that is used to uncover whether the person is well-versed in the topic they are discussing, as well as call them out if they are wrong. Hannan (2018) suggests that “trolling has gone mainstream, shaping politics and even legislation” (p. 214). In such cases, the troll might be quite intelligent and familiar with rhetorical tools such as demagogy or appeal to authority. However, it is also common that trolling is used to simply provoke other people as a means of entertainment – then, their statements are usually rather rude and do not carry much argumentation. In my opinion, today, when the world is torn with controversy, sometimes, trolling became a good way to highlight inconsistencies in one’s opinion – if it is performed without outright bullying and anger.
References
Cook, C., Schaafsma, J., & Antheunis, M. (2017). Under the bridge: An in-depth examination of online trolling in the gaming context. New Media & Society, 20(9), 3323–3340.
Golf-Papez, M., & Veer, E. (2017). Don’t feed the trolling: Rethinking how online trolling is being defined and combated. Journal of Marketing Management, 33(15-16), 1336–1354.
Hannan, J. (2018). Trolling ourselves to death? Social media and post-truth politics. European Journal of Communication, 33(2), 214–226.