Trolls are people who live for making others miserable. No matter what the subject, there will always be a few trolls waiting to chime in and stir up trouble. Often, this involves being particularly insulting and derogatory to women. Trolls like nothing better than to antagonize, and if you aren’t familiar with troll behavior, you may get sucked into their poisonous anger vortex.

Simply put, trolls wait for you to post your well-thought-out or heartfelt or honest comment, then they pounce. They respond with something so outrageous that you have no choice but to answer back. And so it begins.

On social media, there is always a troll under the metaphorical bridge waiting to mess you up. Trolls answer your earnest, honest comments on social media with inflammatory, hurtful, personal insults. They tell you you’re stupid, ugly, worthless, wrong, too fat, too skinny, too old, too young…you get the picture.

Trolls are bullies. With smartphones, social media, and comment sections on every website, they have a huge forum for their sad, emotionally constipated beliefs and anger. Trolls will strike at any time, anywhere. To take away a troll’s power, you can do five simple things:

5. Understand who trolls are
Trolls are the school bullies who sensed your shyness and teased you unmercifully in 5th grade. Trolls are the guys who can’t live without hurting someone’s feelings. Trolls are mostly white, mostly male, almost always misogynists, and more than likely, complete assholes that everyone avoids because they’re so obnoxious and venomous.

4. Remember trolls are liars
Don’t assume they are who they say they are. Yes, Virginia, there really are people lonely, anti-social and bored enough to make up fake accounts and visit websites looking to engage people in arguments.

3. Realize it’s not about you personally
Their game is all about getting the upper hand and hurting someone else. Trolls can smell a weakness an IP address away. Feeling too chubby? Trolls will tell you how fat you are. Sensitive about your acne? Trolls will tell everyone how ugly you are. But it doesn’t matter who you are and what you look like or believe in. Trolls will attack you with whatever they think will work, and then move on to the next victim.

2. Don’t try to reason with a troll
They could care less about reason, decency, honesty, caring or anything wholesome and fulsome. They are here to tear down and destroy.

1. Don’t respond!
Trolls bait you because they want a response. Don’t give them the pleasure of shining the spotlight of attention on them. These people are scary. Don’t make eye contact.

Helpful links:

• Facebook tools for handling abuse
• Adjust your Facebook privacy settings
• Twitter privacy policy
• Online abuse on Twitter
• List of various online bullying resources via Google