In this episode, we dig into why people troll, harass and gossip online and what makes it so common—from anonymity and online disinhibition to personality traits, from group dynamics to platform culture. We explore who trolls are, what motivates them, and how even ordinary people can get caught up in it. With real-life examples and research, we also look at how to tackle trolling and make the internet a kinder place.

Content warning: sexual harassment, suicide, and psychological distress.

Support resources If you have been affected by the content of this episode in any way, the supports at the link below may be of assistance. If you are not in Ireland, please seek supports local to you. Irish Health Service Executive mental health supports

The Samaritans

Pieta House - Suicide and Self-harm Resource

Key Papers

Suler (2004). The Online Disinhibition Effect. Cyberpsychology and Behaviour.

Rost, et al. (2016). Digital Social Norm Enforcement: Online Firestorms in Social Media. PLOS One.

Synnott, et al. (2017). Online trolling: The case of Madeleine McCann. Computers in Human Behavior.

Ng, et al. (2023). Does Instagram make you speak ill of others or improve yourself? A daily diary study on the moderating role of malicious and benign envy. Computers in Human Behavior.

Buckles, et al. (2014). Trolls just want to have fun. Personality and Individual Differences.

Moor & Anderson (2019). A systematic literature review of the relationship between dark personality traits and antisocial online behaviours. Personality and Individual Differences.

Dineva, et al. (2021). A review of organisational strategies to deal with trolls and their effectiveness. Internet Research.

We take a deeper look at online harassment, particularly the rise and impact of trolling. Building on our online dating episode, we explore who is most affected, how it manifests, and the psychological toll it can take. Focusing on deliberate, harmful online behaviour meant to antagonise or disrupt, we unpack the different forms of trolling and why it’s become so widespread.

This is part one of a two-part topic (because Nicola likes to talk – and this is a big topic to cover!). The second episode will get into the causes of trolling – who are the trolls and why do they do what they do?

Content warning: sexual harassment, suicide, and psychological distress.

Support resources If you have been affected by the content of this episode in any way, the supports at the link below may be of assistance. If you are not in Ireland, please seek supports local to you. Irish Health Service Executive mental health supports

The Samaritans

Pieta House - Suicide and Self-harm Resource

Key Papers

PEW Research: The State of Online Harassment

DCU: Understanding Adult Experiences of Online Hate in Ireland – An Exploratory Survey

The Impact of Online Abuse: Hearing the Victims’ Voice report – UK

Aktar & Marrison (2019) The prevalence and impact of online trolling of UK members of parliament

What does social support mean to you? What are your social support networks online and offline? Do you share content for support or do you see people 'over share' content? How do you react?

This week’s episode focuses on the different ways and reasons why we seek support online and examines some of these questions across different age groups and online communities.

Online peer support for people with dementia

Social media affordances of LGBTQIA+ expression and community formation

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging (TILDA) and Loneliness

Support resources If you have been affected by the content of this episode in any way, the supports at the link below may be of assistance. If you are not in Ireland, please seek supports local to you. Irish Health Service Executive mental health supports