Why we Behave Differently Online

John Suler, 2001 - The Disinhibition Effect

• We don't know or see the people we are communicating with.
• They don't know or see us.
• Communication is instant without rules or accountability.
• Takes place in what feels like an alternative reality.

Communicating online removes visual cues (i.e. facial expressions), and makes conversations abstract and anchorless.

Side note: Personality traits are accentuated online - people are less constraint by real life social norms and societal expectations.

Trolls intentionally make spelling and grammer mistakes and wait for someone to insult their writing to lock them into an argument. Trolls:

• Push boundaries
• Unlock situations
• Create new scenarios
• Try ideas out
• Calculate the best way to provoke a reaction....