So in my last blog I talked about the different kinds of trolls out there and a little bit about how to know if you are becoming one. In this segment I want to talk more about how to know if you're becoming a troll and what to do to stop it. If you missed my last blog post then you can read it here.
I'll expand a little bit more on my first point, that trolls always seem to be on a mission. That's definitely warning sign number one. If you're always seeking out certain types of posts to then rail upon you are definitely building a bridge to squat upon. These posts could be almost anything, from news stories to social media interactions to blog posts and even videos. And it doesn't have to be only one format either, you could bounce around from one to the next and back again. The point here is that you spend a certain amount of time each day trying to find an argument. Go ahead and tell yourself the litany of excuses, none of us are buying it. Hell, I've probably told half of those excuses to myself. Now I will believe you if you tell me you never started your journey with the intent of starting arguments but yet there you are, arguing with someone yet again. It's a pattern that should be really old to you by now.
My second point is that you're the only one laughing at your jokes. I'm sure you're tired of trying to be the funny guy in the room only to get told you're a dick. It happens. But when you make the decision that someone getting mad is funny then you're squarely in troll territory.
Last but not least is examine the people you're interacting with. Are they all the same type of person? What do they have in common? Religion? Skin color? Favorite game/movie/brand of car? Hate comes in all forms and if you think only racists can hate people with enough anger to be violent then you need to read this. You could just as easily become a hateful troll to the enemy team in your Overwatch match as an evangelical could be to gays. And no less dangerous.
"Great, I'm a troll. What can I do about it?"
A lot more than you think. First of all you can just take a break from your chosen outlet. If you spend a lot of time on social media then find something else to do. Only focus on the posts that are things you enjoy and if you see a post that makes you angry do not reply. If you're always yelling at your teammates in video games then stop playing that game for a while. Though it pained me greatly I had to step away from Overwatch for a couple of weeks because I had become this guy:
Another thing you can do is change how you interact with others. If you're always talking about political topics switch it up. Talk about movies. Share funny cat/dog .gifs. Take selfies of yourself in funny positions. The point here is you want to create new habits when you interact with people who are online. The more you get used to NOT blasting everyone who is a deplorable Trump supporter or libtard snowflake the more joy you will get out of being on those platforms and the more other people will actually want to talk to you.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking you have to leave your chosen outlet permanently. That's a last resort option. Most of the time, with careful navigation and calm judgement you can surf even the most anger inducing of websites without losing your shit. Just remind yourself that you only want to leave temporarily and that when you go back you can re-discover the joy you had lost to trolldom.
Becoming a troll happens to the best of us, don't beat yourself up about it and for the love of all the universe stop beating up others as well!