Dealing With IG Trolls: 16 Types of Trolls You Meet On Instagram

Let’s face it. They’re everywhere on the Internet.

Whether they are trolling on you or somebody else, it almost always sends negative vibes to the IG community. So what do we do then?

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!

This list is partly based on Buzzfeed.com’s article “13 Types of Trolls You’ll Meet On The Internet” written by Robin Edds. I edited and added a few of my own types to his list, and I also copied his tone of writing. (Just in case you noticed the similarity.)

Here’s my version of the list:

16 Types of Trolls You’ll Meet On Instagram

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.)

Whatever kind of troll we encounter online, the best arsenal we could ever have against them is HUMOR! ^_^

This attitude works best with the knowledge that these trolls do not know us and that we can’t always please everybody.

Easier said than done, right?

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! 

And as for the trolls out there…

Please feel free to leave a comment below! I would love to read your thoughts and feelings on my latest post! Tweet, like, or share this article to those who need it today!

Thank you so much for reading and have a troll-free day! ^_^

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