How To Deal With Trolls On Social Media

So it happened, my first online ‘hater’. Out of the blue, I received a message request on Instagram from an account I hadn’t seen before, containing some fruitful language that would eventually send me into a rage. In this post, I will be sharing my own personal experience with social media trolls as well as advice on how to deal with them.

The trick to dealing with social media trolls is to not deal with them at all. Trolls will not listen to reason and their sole intention is to cause you pain, so you’re only going to hurt yourself by continuing the conversation. Your best option is to ignore the comment, block them right away and focus your mind elsewhere on something positive.

It’s going to take some mental toughness on your part to do this because even the toughest of people can be affected by negative comments, they’re just better at hiding their pain than others! So if you feel like this negativity is affecting your mental health, please seek comfort from friends & family. Know that these trolls are worthless and that they’re attacking you because they’re jealous of you – you sexy beast 😉

Do you ever feel like a fraud? Like you don’t deserve to be where you are? If so, check out this article I wrote on how to overcome imposter syndrome. It will help you overcome that anxiety!

My experience with a social media troll

It all happened because of one post that I shared, where I was calling out ‘fake agency’ owners who rob hard-working people of their money, by selling services that they don’t even have the basic skills for. Seems reasonable right? I thought it was, but clearly I was wrong… as some complete randomer felt triggered enough to enter my DMs and start hurling abuse at me.

It seems that the post hit a nerve with him – probably because he himself is a fraud – and instead of ignoring it or even just blocking me, he decided to go on a verbal rampage, attacking everything about my content, business and personality. You can check out their messages in the screenshot below:

At first, I was really confused. This troll was clearly referring back to a comment that he’d left on one of my posts. The problem was, I hadn’t even seen his comment before he started calling me a p***y.

And just to be clear, I’m probably the biggest foul-mouth going so, that kind of language is quite tame for me. If it didn’t affect my site’s SEO, I would happily repeat those words in this article. The real problem I had with this troll was that they lacked any constructive feedback.

The troll went on to criticise my content, my “two-faced” persona and my other Instagram account, @unreal.tattoos, claiming that I’m robbing people of their money, by selling shoutouts when my “eNgAgEmEnT rAtE iS s#!%”. In reality, he and his 13 followers were just clutching at straws.

You’ll notice with trolls, they never listen to reason or try to understand your point of view. Instead, they are dead-set on making you feel miserable and will use any means necessary to do so. Don’t give in to this negativity. Avoid it at all costs. Block them.

Recommended article: How to avoid create burnout on social media

The psychology behind the social media troll

Now that I’ve given you a brief glimpse of my encounter with a social media troll, it may be worth learning about the psychology of trolling – and why people do it.

The reason why people troll online is that they’re dissatisfied with their own lives. Each day that goes by is just another day of sadness, loneliness and regret. It’s this very reason why they choose to lash out at others – often anonymously – because they want everyone else to feel just as bad as them.

When you browse through social media, it’s often a BS-filled fantasy world where everything’s great and everyone’s in a perfect relationship. As you and I both know, the real world isn’t like that. Unfortunately, these trolls look at these ‘perfect people’ online and get super-jealous, putting them on attack-mode.

You & I might look at these celebrities, influencers and content creators as a source of inspiration. These trolls, however, see these people as an example of how crap their own lives are, and would rather bring these people down to their own crappy level. It’s sad really.

So just know that when someone is attacking you online, often for no apparent reason whatsoever, then just know it’s because they’re jealous of you. In fact, you should take their abuse as a compliment! They call you names because they’re envious of the fact that you’re doing something with your life, whilst they’re busy crying into a bucket of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Conclusion

There’s no reasoning with social media trolls, so don’t even both trying. It’s only gonna hurt your feelings otherwise. The best form of action when dealing with a troll is to block them and move on. Take comfort from friends, family, followers and fans that you are on the right path. Keep doing you.

Do you have any questions or feedback on this post? Let me know in the comments below!