Science may have just confirmed what you've known about Internet trolls all along: they're in it for a darker reason than just fun and games. According to new research published by the University of Manitoba, trolls are likely to have personalities that are characterized by traits like sadism, narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, all of which belong to what some psychologists call the Dark Tetrad.
"Of all personality measures, sadism showed the most robust associations with trolling and, importantly, the relationship was specific to trolling behavior. Enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism. Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism," the researchers concluded.
Think about that next time you consider brushing off a cruel YouTube comment as just another instance of anonymous joking gone too far.
[via The Verge]
