You know them. You do. We used to call them “Forum Trolls,” but in modern times you’re more likely to find them on YouTube, posting about how everyone else is wrong for liking X because X isn’t any good. They know their opinion is controversial and they enjoy the attention they get, even if it’s negative, because it’s still attention. As a former elementary teacher (4th and 5th grade, for 5 years) I’ve seen this behavior before – in very troubled kids. It’s scary in a ten year old, because you know they’ve got a tough life ahead of them. Some of them can be turned around. Hell, I think all of them could, but only by a very supportive family that understands what to say and do, and that’s almost never the case.
I’ve seen kids who come to school so angry they’re ready to lash out, and honestly it’s sometimes hard to feel sympathetic to them because they’re so mean. But a teacher’s job IS to be their students’ friend, if that’s what the student needs most. Any teacher who says otherwise is saying so to justify the fact that they don’t like students. And students are kids and they can tell when someone cares about them and when someone doesn’t.
But what I just did in the above paragraph was done on purpose – I made a bold statement that some would very much disagree with. Some teachers would be angry with that paragraph because it would feel like a personal attack on them. They care about students but they don’t have time to be friends with 80 to 120 students who need a friend. They’d be right for being angry, because my statement was too blanket – it’s accurate in some circumstances but not in others, but I presented it as “fact,” which it isn’t. And that’s how someone can get themselves a “Troll” nickname. It’s not always because they’re acting like a ten year old with no friends and an alcoholic mom. It’s sometimes due to bad writing, or rather bad logic in their writing. How many people are good writers? Fewer than you’d think. I’ve made this mistake before. I am trying to be very cognizant of this.
On the other hand, pointing the finger at someone who is acting like a jackass can be funny.
So it can be a tough line. You are entitled to opinions, and you are entitled to express them. I think the single biggest thing people can do to avoid being a troll is to criticize the behavior instead of the person. That’s what really good classroom teachers do. And it doesn’t work miracles but it is a very helpful strategy. Instead of saying “I don’t see why this guy is so famous, he sucks,” spin it around. Say “Fame is a funny thing. There are many guitar players who are as good as this one, but they can’t all be famous.” And ask yourself why you want to put someone down. Jealous? Sure you are. It’s human. But you’re not an angry kid who is mad at the world. You’re a smart, good looking guitar player and your age doesn’t matter because you have great taste in selecting the websites you read. But we call can slip into troll mode if we’re not careful. I’d done it many times. I’m trying to never do it again.
Finally, this – arguing online is usually a pointless waste of time. Very few people post their opinions because they want to see if they’re wrong. Most are doing it because they want to be part of something, to contribute their opinion to it. And then they don’t like having their opinion challenged, despite putting it out there. That’s not a rational act, but we do it all the time.
It’s very difficult to win an Internet argument. Why bother? Putting your effort into something productive is almost always a better choice.
