Personally speaking, I realized that categorizing such
things help a lot in trying to understand or deal with negativity. (I blame
that on my background and experience in Psychology.) Plus, it helps us see the
humor in what these trolls do or say!
1.
The Spammer.
·
Usually leaves comments that are copy pasted to
every public account they could find;
·
Contains self-promotion or chain letter type
messages;
·
Sometimes accompanied by positive comments about
your photo;
·
The most common kind of Instagram troll;
·
Beware of hashtags.
How
to deal with them: Usually harmless; if they annoy you, simply delete and
block, don’t use hashtags, and when all else fails, turn your IG account
private.
2.
The Trololololol.
·
They are bored… really bored;
·
Likes provoking other people for fun (especially
die-hard fans);
·
Wants someone to notice them;
·
Otherwise reasonable people fueled by Internet
anonymity.
How to
deal with them: In this case, “don’t feed the troll” applies; if they
persist due to constant feeding by other users, blatantly point it out to spoil
their game then direct their attention to something else (They ARE bored after
all, give them something to do!)
3.
The Jealous Troll.
·
Jealous of you but would never admit that they
are;
·
Usually someone you know;
·
Often checks your page and sometimes talks s**t
about you behind your back;
·
Never likes and comments on your photos but
follows your posts religiously.
How
to deal with them: Do nothing; continue being your fab self and relish in
the fact that they put you on a pedestal (even though they would never admit
that they do!)
4.
The Lurker.
·
They lie in wait, and strike the moment they
find the opportunity.
How to deal
with them: Be flattered. After all, they did spend a lot of time paying
attention to everything you post. Best follower ever!
5.
The Tagger.
·
Keeps tagging random users on unwanted photos;
·
Possibly a bot or a random IGer (that doesn’t
even follow you back) trying to either gain more followers or win an Instagram
contest/giveaway.
How to
deal with them: Depending on your level of tolerance, these types can be
easily ignored. But if you must, you can easily block them too.
6.
The Noob
·
Leaves comments like “Spam for spam? Recent for
recent? Like for Like? Comment for comment? Follow for follow? Row for row?” on your photos;
·
The type that follows to unfollow;
·
Also a very common type of Instagram troll.
How to
deal with them: Best ignored. Unless of course you want to play their game,
in which case, go ahead! (I do sometimes, lol!) Besides, some of them are
really nice and even stay as your IG friend! (In which case, they’d no longer
be a troll, hihi!)
7.
The Fisher.
·
Leaves random comments on photos or videos to
gain followers;
·
Quick to change their username;
·
Sometimes doesn’t even wait for the photo or
video to load before making their comment.
How to
deal with them: Usually the type of troll that’s fun to troll back!
8.
The Whiner.
·
Easily offended;
·
Takes everything as a personal assault;
·
If they cannot feel offended directly, they will
read through comments and find a way to be offended on other people’s behalf.
How to deal with them: Ignore them for 10 minutes. They’ll find
something else to feel offended about.
9.
The Point Misser.
·
A form of Whiner that lacks the ability to
detect humor or sarcasm;
·
Usually emerges during comment battles.
How
to deal with them: Put emoticons to good use. Add a winky face or sarcastic
face to everything you write so they know you're joking or being sarcastic.
10. The Critic.
·
Never satisfied; they say you’re too thin, too
fat, too whiny, too stupid, too smart, too sexy, too real, too nice, etc.
·
Under the delusion that their opinions matter;
·
Their choice of words often provoke Whiners;
·
Online anonymity makes them think that the usual
rules of society don't apply; forgets that there’s a person behind every IG
account.
How to
deal with them: They are simply not worth the worry. Best ignored or
blocked because a lot of times, nothing we say would change their mind.
(Unless of course they’re youngsters simply trying to express themselves --- in which case, we would have to teach them how to state their opinion in a constructive and polite manner.)
11. The
Hater.
·
Moves from victim to victim saying mean things
to people;
·
They don’t need a reason to hate – they just do!
·
Can’t be bothered to capitalize letters (and when
they do, they usually capitalize everything and turns into a Shouter – see
number 13);
·
Often neglects the proper use of punctuations,
spacing, grammar and spelling;
·
Often seen trolling on big IG accounts.
At least this one tried to spell better. Sort of...
Nice try, though!
How to
deal with them: Haters gonna hate. Potatoes gonna potate.
12. The
Line Crosser.
·
Just like a Pokemon evolves to its advanced form,
the Line Crosser is the evolved form of the Hater;
·
One of the worst types found on Instagram;
·
Their weapon of choice includes gender, race,
religion, body image, personal lifestyle attacks, psychological disorders, death, suicide, rape, etc.
How to
deal with them: Karma’s a b***h. Let her do the rest.
13. The
Shouter.
· They are either very angry random users or very excited fan girls;
·
It doesn't matter what you say or do, they are
easily angered or excited by anything and everything;
·
Sometimes spawns from comment battles instigated
by the Trololololols or Haters.
How to
deal with them: Steal their Caps Lock key. And their Shift keys (just in
case.)
14. The
Grammar Nazi.
·
Fairly uncommon kind of IG troll (since IG
followers rarely read captions anyway);
·
Usually seen replying to Haters or Shouters.
How to
deal with them: Proof read everything you post (or suffer their wrath!)
15. The
Creep.
·
Whether it’s your chest, your legs, your feet or
your hairy nostril, these guys are always turned on by your posts;
·
Sometimes uses the Direct Message feature to
send inappropriate photos;
·
Usually found lurking in IG accounts featuring
photos of hot girls.
How to deal
with them: Meet the block button. It will be your best friend.
16. The
Poser.
·
The most dangerous kind of Instagram troll;
· Steals your identity to satisfy their own
needs or uses your identity to troll other people.
How to
deal with them: Enlist the help of other people to report that account. Let
the Instagram administrators do something about it. NEVER TOLERATE THE POSER!
(Their thoughtless actions could potentially snowball into something that is
irreparable.)
This is why it is important to connect with people who can relate
with our feelings so that we won’t have to feel alone.
It is NEVER a good feeling to have mean trolls attack you.
In fact, the initial sting hurts.
A LOT.
So much so that we might even be tempted to respond to these trolls with overwhelming emotion.
But believe me when I say it won't make us feel any better. It won't make us look like the better person either.
So stop and take a deep breath.
Step back a bit and think, "Is this person really talking about me? Or are the words being thrown at me right now simply a reflection of their own issues and limited view of the world?"
Most likely, we would realize that the answer to this question would be "yes."
Once we understand this, healing would come quicker for us, and we can move on with our head held high.
Who knows? We might even find ourselves laughing at these
trolls some day!
And also, remember to accept the support being given by the
people whose opinion actually matters – the ones who actually know and care
about us!
