Troll Cyber Bullying: Don’t Feed The Trolls! (Part 2 Of 2)

In part 1 of this 2 part blog, we discussed the five most prevalent Cyber Trolls, aka Cyber-bullies, how to recognize them and signs to watch for to see if they are on your social media sites.

How do you know if you encountered a Troll? How do you recognize them from inquisitive followers?

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Cyber Trolls are tricky. Anonymous online Trolls are people who, per the Urban Dictionary, “purposely and deliberately start an argument in a manner which attacks others on a forum without in any way listening to the arguments proposed by his peers.” Their main purpose is usually self-amusement that is hiding behind self-rightness. A secondary purpose may be to suck the success out of the forum and then take it over. To do this, they shift the positivity and growth in the group to negativity and destruction. You may see or feel it as it is happening when page followers begin to drop, and the page’s numbers decline or participation drops off, and the page seems “empty.” You may be left wondering, “Why this is happening and what can I do to make a change?”

Now that you know how to spot a Troll what can you do to get rid of a Troll? Here are 6 suggestions.

Keep your site positive while you deal with your Troll. Remember, Trolls are attracted to the light but cannot live in the light. The positive light will turn them to stone.
Monitor your live internet and radio shows before you bring someone into the audience.
Don’t be tricked. Find and learn how to use your BLOCK button. Trolls are tricky and will try to turn the tables on you making you think they were “just helping you.” If you do not feel helped it is because you were not helped.
Do not engage. The argument is their food. Like most bullies, they are masters at word manipulation and thrive from arguments.
Do be the light that turns them to stone. Ignore them, and you starve them. Engage them, and you feed them.
If suggestions 1-5 do not work- use banning/blocking or report them to authorities, or close off comment sections entirely from a blog post, video page or topic thread.

In all the mythological stories the Trolls were defeated by brains. They were outsmarted by average people and in one case, a tiny but clever goat. Be smart. Don’t feed the Trolls!

About the Author: Kathleen (Kat) O’Keefe-Kanavos is a three-time Breast Cancer Survivor, as seen on Dr. Oz, DOCTORS, NBC, and CBS, whose Divine Dreams diagnose her illness, and was a Dream Research Participant for Duke University’s Dr. Larry Burk‘s Breast Cancer Dream Research Program. They co-wrote, Dreams That Can Save Your Life. She is a Syndicated Columnist, TV Producer/Host and award-winning Author/Lecturer who promotes patient advocacy and connecting with Divine Spiritual-guidance through Dreams for success in health, wealth, and relationships. “Don’t tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big your God is.” Learn more @ www.KathleenOKeefeKanavos.com