It is super rare for me to express any kind of political view and the one time that I did the response was so overwhelming and it made me realize there is a need for more "non-trolling" write up. For now, I am going to shy away from sounding political. Even if this article may also apply to that same scenario, it is generally something about something important: social media trolls and how to deal with them?

What are online trolls? The term troll is an internet jargon that refers to someone who causes a stir on  social media or provoke another person by making damaging remarks or by starting an argument. Often times, trolls flame for the sheer fun of laughing at other peoples misery.

Now a days trolls come in different flavors. Some of them would post innocent or stupid questions or comments to throw a online discussion out of the topic or simply annoy anyone following the thread.  Also,most of them are argumentative and there are those who exist to spread lies and propaganda.


How do you deal with trolls on social media?

The best thing to do is avoid them. Social media trolls love attention and the more you feed them the more they persevere. Without attention they will just disappear.

Never argue with them. You will never win and the more they sense your anger and frustration the more they will flame. For all you know it, they are laughing their hearts out behind their desks.

Always check the user. Before responding to anybody, double check that it is a legitimate account. Most trolls have fake account that have been newly created or have very little information to support the validity of their profile (Photos, recent tweets or posts, number of friends or followers, etc.)

Report, Block or Mute them on social media. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have features that let you follow, mute, report, block a troll or anybody who has been harassing or offending you. Although, they can always make another profile and use it to come after you, if that is really their goal, blocking prevents them from achieving the satisfaction they get from attacking you.

In conclusion, I think that when someone is publicly declaring that they are "waging war on social media trolls" they are actually feeding them with the attention that they crave for.