Abstract
Cyberbullying and internet trolling are both forms of online aggression or cyberharassment; however. research has yet to assess the prevalence of these behaviors in relationship to one another. In addition, the current study was the first to investigate whether individual differences and self-esteeem discerned between self reported cyberbullies and/or internet trolls ( i.e. Never engaged in either, Cyberbully-only, Troll-Only, Both Cyberbully and Troll). Of 308 respondents solicited from Mechanical Turk, 70 engaged in cyberbullying behaviors, 20 engaged in onlt trolling behaviors, 129 self-reported both behaviors, and 89 self-reported neither behavior. Results yielded low self-esteem, low conscientiousness, and low internal moral values for both cyberbullying and trolling behaviors. However, there were differentiating factors between individuals who only engaged in cyberbullyinh behaviors (high on neuroticism) vs. trolling-only behaviors (high on openness to experience). Individuals who engaged in both behaviors scored higher on extraversion, lower on agreeableness, and lower on self-esteem compared to individuals who engaged in neither behavior.
Keywords
Cyberbullying, Internet Trolling, Electronic Harassment, Self-Esteem, Individual Differences, Personality
Date of this Version
2016
Comments
Zezulka, L.A. & Seigfried-Spellar, K.C. (2016). Differentiating cyberbullies and Internet trolls by personality characteristics and self-esteem. Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law: Special Issue on Cyberharassment, 11(3), 7-26.
To access the final edited and published work see: http://ojs.jdfsl.org/index.php/jdfsl/article/view/383/281
This article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0