Trolling, Boredom, Meaning in life

Theoretical Background

Online trolling is a deliberate behaviour that aims to deceive, disrupt, or aggress against
others online, with the intention of antagonizing other users (Buckels et al., 2014). Trolling
can be emotionally distressing to its victims so its presence in online communities is of
concern. Whereas much of the research on trolling has focused on understanding the
psychological profile of a troll (Buckels et al., 2014, 2019). More recently, researchers have
been interested in understanding why people are motivated to troll in the first place
(Pfattheicher et al., 2021).

One reason people troll is because they are bored. Research suggests that boredom is
typically accompanied by feelings of meaninglessness (Chan et al., 2018). Perceiving that
one’s life is meaningful is a central human need, and disruptions to one’s meaning system can
trigger behaviours to either escape these uncomfortable feelings of meaninglessness or
reignite meaning elsewhere (Heine et al., 2006). As such, boredom can prompt people to
avoid meaninglessness by engaging in sensation seeking behaviours that involve a low level
of self-awareness, such as sexual sensation seeking, anonymity seeking, or alcohol-use (for a
review, see Moynihan et al., 2021). At the same time, momentary experiences of boredom
can motivate a desire to seek meaningful engagement to compensate for this lack of meaning.
Although trolling has been found to be positively associated with chronic boredom, little
research has investigated the mechanisms for why boredom potentially leads to such an
aversive and toxic behaviour. In this project, we aim to investigate whether people troll when
they are bored to regain a sense of meaning (meaning seeking), or to escape the feeling of
meaninglessness (sensation seeking).

Original Goals

The main goal of this project was to explore the mechanisms for why boredom may
be associated with trolling. To do this, we aimed to conduct two studies. In Study 1
(cross-sectional) we: (1) Aimed to replicate the observed relationship between trolling and
boredom using more modern validated scales for assessing trolling tendencies, (2) Aimed to
assess how sensation seeking and search for meaning mediate this relationship, and (3)
Explore how additional individual differences (e.g., sadism) account for shared variance and
potential alternative explanations. In Study 2 (experimental), we aim to establish a causal
relationship between boredom and trolling. We planned to manipulate boredom using a
reference task to see: (1) if people troll more when they are bored, and (2) if people troll due
to a desire to search for meaning, or to seek sensation.

The Current Project

Through the EASP Seedcorn grant, we were able to run two studies by collecting data
on Prolific. All studies were pre-registered via the OSF. In the first study (N = 379), we found
that boredom was positively associated with searching for meaning in life and various trolling
behaviours (being entertained by trolling posts, sharing trolling posts). Additionally searching
for meaning in life was also positively associated with these same trolling behaviours. Further
analyses indicated a partial mediation, whereby boredom was associated with searching for
meaning in life, which in turn, was associated with these trolling behaviours. Sensation
seeking behaviours did not mediate this relationship.

Perhaps the most novel result of Study 1 was the relationship between boredom,
search for meaning, and sharing trolling posts. On many social media platforms, people are
able to share content, rather than post something themselves. People can share this content
publicly, to group chats, or with individual friends or peers. Of course, these posts could
A. Johnson, J. Monéger, L. Nitschinsk, M. O’Dea Trolling, Boredom, Meaning in life (Nov 2024)
contain trolling content, but how sharing trolling content via different avenues on social
media has not been tested. As such, we deviated from our original plan to test whether the
relationship between boredom, search for meaning, and sharing trolling posts differed
depending on who the post was shared too.

In Study 2 (N = 239) we found that boredom was associated with searching for
meaning, which in turn was associated with sharing trolling posts publicly. However, this
same mediation was not significant for sharing trolling posts with a friend, or in a group chat.
We argue, therefore, that it is about public self-affirmation.

Contribution to Wider Research Activities

The studies conducted through the EASP Seedcorn grant enrich the
sociopsychological literature on why people engage with antisocial behaviours such as
trolling. Trolling can cause significant distress to its victims and online communities would
greatly benefit from more civil online discourse. To achieve this, however, we believe it is
important to investigate the potential mechanistic pathways that underly the behaviour, to
better understand why people troll in the first place. More broadly, the EASP Seedcorn grant
allowed for the formation of a fruitful international collaboration between several early career
academics. We believe such collaborations are vital in developing long lasting connections,
and most importantly, producing good science.

References

Buckels, E. E., Trapnell, P. D., & Paulhus, D. L. (2014). Trolls just want to have fun. Personality and
Individual Differences, 67, 97–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.016
Buckels, E. E., Trapnell, P. D., Andjelovic, T., & Paulhus, D. L. (2019). Internet trolling and everyday
sadism: Parallel effects on pain perception and moral judgment. Journal of personality, 87(2),
328–340. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12393
Chan, C. S., van Tilburg, W. A. P., Igou, E. R., Poon, C. Y. S., Tam, K. Y. Y., Wong, V. U. T., &
Cheung, S. K. (2018). Situational meaninglessness and state boredom: Cross-sectional and
experience-sampling findings. Motivation and Emotion, 42(4), 555–565.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-018-9693-3
Heine, S. J., Proulx, T., & Vohs, K. D. (2006). The meaning maintenance model: on the coherence of
social motivations. Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society
for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc, 10(2), 88–110.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_1
Moynihan, A. B., Igou, E. R., & van Tilburg, W. A. P. (2021). Existential escape of the bored: A review
of meaning-regulation processes under boredom. European Review of Social Psychology, 32(1),
161–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2020.1829347
Pfattheicher, S., Lazarević, L. B., Westgate, E. C., & Schindler, S. (2021). On the relation of boredom
and sadistic aggression. Journal of personality and social psychology, 121(3), 573–600.
https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000335