How To Protect Yourself From Internet Trolls - Society

You've probably met with internet trolls. Evil jokes, jokes, devaluing comments - these are the attributes of their communication style. How do you react to such characters? Choosing the right strategy of behavior.

The phenomenon of "toxic narcissism"

It is easier to roll down the hill than to drag up a sled. Any development requires effort, time, awareness - it's easier to go with the flow. If the personality does not develop, stagnation occurs, the lake becomes a swamp. A person who has given up development pays for it. He is not realized, his unconscious dissatisfaction with himself and his life grows.

Deep dissatisfaction with oneself is transferred to the world, such a person becomes toxic to those around him: he looks for shortcomings in everything and rejoices in other people's mistakes. Proofs of someone else's imperfection raise his self-esteem, but only temporarily. This is a destructive way: not to create your own, but to criticize someone else's.

Internet trolls are a prime example of this strategy. The space of the Internet gives anonymity, the ability to express negativity and not bear any responsibility for it. In the case of direct open contact in reality, they would behave differently.

Sometimes such people deliberately merge negative on others (“I’ll go and have a fight on the forum”), but sometimes they themselves do not understand what they are doing and behave passively-aggressively. This is the phenomenon of "toxic narcissism": a person raises his own self-esteem by belittling others. Instead of dealing with himself and his inner world, he focuses on others. On other people's "motes", and not on your "log".

He really needs negative projections towards others. Projections are a defense mechanism that allows you to deal not with yourself, but with others, which is easier and more pleasant, but does not lead to development. The inner material is projected onto external objects, one's own flaws, unpleasant emotions, imperfections are attributed to other people.

Meeting the Shadow

According to the Jungian model, the developing personality moves inward, from the surface layer of the Mask to its true Self - Self. And already at the very beginning of the path, he meets with the archetype of the Shadow - his shadow, negative side, in which that suppressed material is stored that he does not want to admit in himself. For further movement and development, the Shadow must admit: "Yes, I have it in me." The one who denies his Shadow cannot go further, he has not passed the test. And in order to cope with the shadowy material that floods him, he begins to project it onto others: “This is not in me, this is in you! This is you, not me! " Own negative qualities, desires, motives, unpleasant feelings are projected.

The more often a person uses the projection mechanism, the further away he is from himself. Those who are prone to negative projections develop a "false self". Such people have an idealized self-image that does not correspond to reality. And all the inner negativity goes to others.

A person who constantly uses the mechanism of negative projections is far from his present self and does not develop. Toxic to others and dangerous. He himself is sincerely convinced that he is right and therefore can be very convincing. It is such personalities that often become the head of religious sects, their confidence and their own idealized image attract people.

Support Group

Deep down, such a person understands that he is wrong, so he needs to constantly prove his own innocence in his own eyes

What does he do for this? Launches negative group projections, thereby creating a "support group" for himself.

He begins to discuss the sacrifice of his projections with third parties, encouraging them to share their opinion. And if he succeeds, he feels the confirmation of his innocence. For example, X disliked employee Y and projects her own aggressiveness and ill will onto her. In a conversation with colleagues, X throws phrases: “Have you noticed that Y has an unkind eye?”, “Hmm, but I heard that at a previous job, Y jinxed a pregnant colleague,” “Oh, have you seen how Y is now unkind looked at you?"

After some time, the negative group projection is formed, colleagues perceive Y through the prism of prejudice, and, for example, her myopic squint is now perceived as an attempt to "jinx". Now Y becomes a convenient lightning rod: “I quarreled with my husband in the evening, it was all because Y looked askance at me during the day!”, “My son brought a deuce again, Y jinxed me, not otherwise!” Everyone quickly forgets that X was the source of negative projection. A X, listening to a wave of gossip about Y, rejoices: “Here, I told you! I warned everyone!"

Very often there is envy behind the negative projections of toxic narcissists, that is, negative projections are directed towards the object of unconscious envy

They say that the most beautiful women in Europe became the victims of the Inquisition, and in Nazi Germany and the Stalinist USSR, denunciations were written about citizens who were successful in their field. It can be assumed that this was not always done as a deliberate betrayal, the informers could move the mechanism of negative projections, and they sincerely began to believe that they were doing good, and the object of envy is bad and deserves punishment.

How to protect yourself from trolls

• 1. Work with yourself and with your own negative projections.
• 2. Do not allow yourself to be drawn into other people's negative projections: to clarify facts, to form your own opinion, and not to participate in gossip. No wonder there is wisdom: "What Peter says about Paul characterizes Peter, not Paul."
• 3. If you hear negative information about someone, clarify it, find out the facts. Think about it: what is the benefit to the person who gave you this information?
• 4. In a conflict situation, listen to both sides, each has its own truth, do not let your opinion be manipulated.

The mechanism of negative projections is not as innocent as it might seem, and leads to disastrous consequences: we can recall the mobbing and the movie "Scarecrow" with the persecution of a girl in a school team. Watch it again, discuss it with a psychologist or friends, analyze situations from your own life.

A deliberate behavior strategy will help to painlessly react to the appearance of trolls in the online and offline space.