Member-only story
Why People Become Internet Trolls
How to address the empathy deficit online
When I was 10 years old and first introduced to the miracle of the World Wide Web, chat rooms were by far my favorite thing. Talking to random people from all over the world about anything you want — what more could a bored kid ask for?
I’d spend hours in these chat rooms, asking my new friends how old they were, what they had for breakfast, and how much pocket money their parents gave them. I shared this experience with a friend who didn’t own a computer and had never used the internet.
He asked if he could have a go. “Sure!” I said, excited for him to experience the wonder of the internet. Without hesitation, he began typing the worst insults and swear words he could think of. Horrified I had awoken a dark and malevolent force, and fearing he had forever ruined my friendship with strawberry88, I shut down my computer and didn’t invite him to play on the internet again.
To this day, I remain baffled by this behavior. When faced with the endless possibility of the internet, my childhood friend’s first impulse was to verbally abuse strangers. This innocent 10-year-old had become a troll.
