In recent years, social media have become an integral part of individuals’ interactions, especially for teenagers.
THE “Digital natives”thus the generation grown with this technology is defined, have been exposed to a new form of social interaction: digital interaction.
It is assumed that digital and internet devices have a strong influence on the development of young people and their way of socializing. Above all because, it is calculated, that the time they spent online has doubled in the last decade.
The rapid development of apps, software and the growing use of the internet raise many questions about the impact of this technology on teenagers.
Teenagers and social media
Some researchers hypothesized that teenagers bring the problems of their life to social networks, offline “such as the construction of identity, the relationships in the group of peers, sexuality, the search for sensations and the intake of risks, aspects typically addressed during this period of psychophysical development.
Recent studies tell us that the use of social media between 13-17 years of age is about 93-97% and it is therefore necessary to question how this will impact on the well-being and health of teenagers.
According to Strasbuger and his “super peer” theory, social media, unlike the face -to -face interactions, seem to exercise one greater influence and pressure on teenagers.
Another aspect not to be underestimated, closely linked to the use of social media is that relating to violence and online hatred.
Haters and Trolls, what are they and what differences are there?
The trolling It can be defined as a deviant, harmful or antisocial online behavior aimed at interrupting conversations and triggering conflicts.
The key aspects of the trolling They are the deception, aggression and a sense of realization when they get the attention of others.
The trolling it is similar to the “cyberbullying“But their goals are different. Trolls aim to create a disturbance and damage to strangers, while the”cyberbulli“The victims they know personally take targeted.
While a “Troll“It is therefore, the one who participates in a discussion to disturb and start quarrels and provocations, thehater He is a person who dispenses hatred on everyone and everything. Malice and verbal violence are the most used weapons.
Who are haters and trolls?
Despite the growing literature on the behavior of hatred on the Internet, it is known little about the personal characteristics of people who usually engage in such behaviors. There is not even a unanimous agreement of scholars on the definition of “hater“.
Hate on the Internet can contact a person without any way referring to the position or social group of the person himself.
Some examples found on Facebook and Social, aimed at public figures, actors, sportsmen … are:
- “How can such a loser earn so much money!?”
- “He must have obtained this job because he paid someone”
- “This idiot guided so fast that he deserved it” (phrase referring to a disappeared person).
What psychological profiles have the haters?
In a recent study, it emerged how psychopathy was a predictive, statistically significant factor of hatred for post/online comments.
In this same study, no association was highlighted between haters and the other traits of the dark triad (narcissism and Machiavellism) as are often found in the trolls.
So, we can say that some personality traits can play a role in the explanation of the behavior of hatersbut surely these aspects intersect with other important factors such as social rewards.
What size does the phenomenon have?
The phenomenon of hatred on the internet is unfortunately very common behavior. About 1/4 of the Americans admits that he has committed harmful online activities against a stranger.
That consequences have the actions of the haters?
It has been shown that internet hatred increases sensations of sadness, shame, has an important impact on self -esteem and can even cause suicides.
But online hatred does not influence only human lives, but it can also cause serious damage in other areas: just think of how certain online hatred campaigns have caused the failure of films.
The phenomenon of haters is becoming more and more prevalent and for this, more studies are needed that can help us understand the problem and how best to deal with it.
How to protect us?
Preventing and stopping trolling is particularly important because its victims face a negative psychological impact comparable to that of cyberbullying and harassment. The speech becomes even more impacting when the victims are teenagers.
Useful interventions could be those who aim to reduce the social rewards that the haters they get from their behavior.
The strategies are:
- Decrease the power of haters: By ignoring their comments, their importance and resonance is reduced.
- Block the profiles of haters: So other users are discouraged to interact with them and prevents you from getting even more visibility and space.
- Recognize early the behaviors of the haters It allows everyone to have the opportunity to block them early, reporting them to the various moderators of the websites.
Bibliography
- De Felice, G.; Burrai, J.; Mari, e.; Paloni, F.; Lausi, G.; Giannini, AM; Quaglieri, A. How Do Adolescents Use Social Networks and What Are Their Potential Dangers? At Qualitative Study of Gender Differences. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 195691
- Gylfason, HF; SveinDottir, Ah; Vésteinsdóttir, V.; Sigurvinsdottir, R. Haters Skirt
Hate, Trolls Troll Skirt: The Personality Profile of A Facebook Troll. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 5722. - Sorokowski P, Kowal M, Zdybek P and oleszkiewicz a (2020) are online haters Psychopaths? Psychological predictors of online hating behavior. Front. Psychol. 11: 553.
