What Is Trolling on Social Media? | Social Media Victims Law Center (2024)

Cyberbullying is a growing problem among children, teens, and, therefore, parents that can leave you and your child feeling isolated, hopeless, and powerless. Pew Research Center released findings of a 2022 survey, reporting that46 percent of U.S. teensaged 13 to 17 have experienced some form of cyberbullying, which may include trolling.

Trolling describes the act of posting harassing and humiliating comments on social media platforms to elicit a negative response from one or more recipients. Usually, the person trolling is looking to disrupt a conversation — sometimes for the sheer sake of it and other times to target a particular person or group.

The red flags of social media trolling may be hard to see if you don’t know what to look for. But when you learn more about trolling, its effects, and what you can do to protect your children, you can intervene and stop the abuse.

An social media troll is a person who shares unwelcome content within an online conversation to purposefully instigate an argument with one or more people. Sometimes the troll continues to participate in the discussion, while other times, they sit back and enjoy the chaos they’ve created.

Trolling doesn’t necessarily have to occur online, but it falls under the cyberbullying umbrella when it does. Social media trolling is problematic because bullies troll their victims by knowingly posting harmful comments that embarrass or hurt others. Internet trolls intend to insult and use derogatory language to provoke the victim into responding, leading to more trolling behavior. The troll may even follow the victim from one online community to another to harass or force them off the platform.

If your child spends a lot of time sharing, viewing, and commenting on online content, they’re likely to encounter an internet troll at some point. There are several signs that you may be dealing with an internet troll:

• Attacking or criticizing something that you have posted, praised, or agreed with
• Posting personal insults meant to humiliate you in front of others in the discussion
• Increasing verbal aggression when the victim responds
• Making unbelievable, outrageous, and ridiculous statements designed to upset others
• Using racist and misogynistic language or making “hate speech” statements
• Expressing socially unacceptable viewpoints

It’s helpful to familiarize yourself with the social media slang terms many use in text messages, messaging apps, chatrooms, online forums, message boards, gaming platforms, and email. Young people often use slang and emojis to hide conversations from the watchful eyes of adults, especially in cases where bullying or illegal activity is happening.

Trolling on the internet can take many forms:

• Doxxing occurs when a troll publishes another person’s information, such as social security number, bank account, home address, or phone number, online, causing the victim to be physically or financially vulnerable. News reports of doxing tend to focus on politicians and celebrities, but doxing can happen to anyone.
• Swattinghappens when an internet troll calls emergency services and makes a false report regarding the victim, causing a SWAT team to unexpectedly show up at the victim’s door, arresting or frightening them.
• RIP trollingoccurs when trolls post hurtful and cruel messages or images to Facebook memorial pages of recently deceased individuals.

Trolls were responsible for New York Times editorJon Weisman quitting Twitterand leaving behind 35,000 followers after he became the target of antisemitic trolling.

Sixty-eight percent of kids who have reported being victims of online bullying also report related mental health issues. The effects of cyberbullying and social media trolling include depression and anxiety. In addition, your child may experience psychological and physical symptoms such as sadness, anger, fear, embarrassment, headaches, stomachaches, and difficulty sleeping.

Additional important signs to look for in your child include:

• Isolating from others
• Performing poorly in school
• Having trouble building connections with others
• Developing anxiety or depression
• Engaging in self-harm
• Having suicidal thoughts

Although trolling is not a crime itself, it can easily cross the line into harassment and serious threats. So how do you know when to involve law enforcement and obtain legal counsel? If you are dealing with a troll that does any of the following, call the police:

• Threatens violence, bodily harm, or death to your child
• Posts p*rnographic or sexually explicit language directed at a minor
• Relentlessly follows a victim from forum to forum to purposefully harass them
• Uses information from their relationship with your child in real life to target your child online
• Posts information that could compromise your child’s safety, such as their home or school address
• Engages in stalking behavior or hate crimes

If your child has been the victim of online trolling, take the following steps to protect them and ensure that you have evidence to support potential legal action:

1. Compile evidence that proves that trolling or cyberbullying existed. Take a screenshot or print messages, emails, posts, and conversations to share with law enforcement.
2. Block the offending troll on all digital platforms and devices so they can’t contact your child further.
3. Report the conduct to the website or app, as the behavior likely violates community standards or the user agreement.
4. Get law enforcement involved if a troll makes serious threats or engages in stalking behavior.

Trolling continues when social media forums and gaming community websites do nothing to prevent it. Social Media Victims Law Center litigates against companies like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others to obtain victim compensation for the harm these platforms create. Civil judgments in favor of social media victims also provide further reasons for these websites and gaming sites to improve their products for safety.

If your child has had experience with an internet troll, contact the legal experts at Social Media Victims Law Center today for a free case evaluation. We will work with you to uphold social media platforms’ responsibilities to their users and condemn them for their roles in the damaging outcomes that cyber trolls and bullies cause.

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