Sad tale of the cowardly troll

Rhona Canoy

SO… let’s talk about trolls. As a child, I knew them to be mythical creatures that lived in caves or, more frequently, under bridges. They were ugly dwarves who were mean, envious, and vengeful. As instruments of terror, they were quite effective in forcing me to go to sleep, or eat my vegetables. I was often told they lived under my bed, so for years I was afraid to fall asleep with my feet or arms dangling from the side of my mattress.

Fast forward to the WWW age. Let’s talk about the evolution of trolls. Now they are defined as individuals who sow fear, act as bullies, spread false tales, behave in unacceptable ways… on the internet all under the cloak of anonymity. And let’s talk about the psychological factors which are likely to be present in trolls.

ATTENTION SEEKERS—Trolls are most likely people who thrive on others noticing them. They will attack through comments or opinions which are personal in nature, albeit in a manner which show them in a bad light. Bear in mind that the object here is the attention rather than any salient point to be brought to the discussion. Usually their presence is observed only in the comment sections, although some have been known to sometimes post incendiary accusatory items. In faerie tales, trolls want people to be aware of their existence, by eliciting fear from those who walk in their territory.

NARCISSISTIC—Trolls are most likely people who think highly of themselves. They want to be perceived as highly intelligent, self-confident, admirable, or feared, or want to project themselves as such. Sadly, displaying these behaviors is driven by the underlying insecurities and inferiorities which trolls seem incapable of overcoming. Hence the overcompensation. The smaller they are, the larger they wish to appear. In faerie tales, trolls like to think that the lovely maiden will fall in love as soon as they get to know them, and they see their dwarfly selves as giants.

COWARDLY—Trolls are most likely people who are the first to run from a fight. They will defend their anonymity for fear of having to face their responders or detractors. In real life, they will loudly make statements, accusations, claims which often result in some form of confrontation from which they will absent themselves. Hence the online anonymity. In faerie tales, trolls lurk in the dark of caves and underneath bridges, waiting only for passersby who they believe they can quickly overcome. They avoid large crowds, are afraid to be seen, and will retreat to the darkest recesses of their hiding places when attacked.

AVOID ACCOUNTABILITY—Trolls are most likely people who don’t want to be held accountable or responsible for their words and actions. This is the one factor that crosses over into their real-world lives. Their belligerence in making themselves heard and making their presence known is only there to protect themselves from being attacked for their words and actions—sa Bisaya pa, panghurab lang. Sadly, when confronted, they will vehemently deny or find a scapegoat to blame. And their biggest fear is to have their identity discovered In faerie tales, this is something that trolls are not saddled with.

NEEDY—Trolls are most likely people who want to be loved, admired, and looked up to. Usually finding themselves at a loss as to how to fill this need, they will not hesitate to, like Darth Vader, turn to the dark side. This neediness usually cannot be satisfied since trolls will insist on defining how these needs are to be met. In real life, trolls usually have very few true friends, and are often plagued by the fear that the few friends that they have are insincere. In faerie tales, needy trolls usually become happy creatures once they find unconditional love and are surrounded by accepting people. I don’t know if this can happen to internet trolls as well.

So… now in my twilight years, after having renounced my belief in faerie tales, I have come to realize this:

Yes, Boknoy, trolls are real. And they look like people.