Written by Edge of Humanity Magazine Staff

Roughly four in ten Americans have experienced some sort of online harassment. And this number doesn’t seem to go down. Infact, reports suggest that compared to 2017, online harassment has only become more severe.

From trolling to cyberbullying and doxxing, the list of ways a person can be digitally abused seems almost endless. All you need is some creativity and the veil of anonymity provided by the Internet shields you from any immediate consequences.

Usually, the motivating factor why some embrace this dark side is either because of a false sense of revenge or a desire to punish.

While digital abuse in itself is disturbing, what makes it all the more concerning is that some individuals seem to derive a thrill from it. It’s almost a pleasurable activity that gives them a euphoric high.

But is this aggressive behavior a human trait?

Well, mammals, in general, are social creatures that have evolved to live in groups.

This is often accompanied by empathy, which is the capacity to understand and share the feelings of others. In species like elephants, dolphins, and primates, instances of altruism and consolation behavior have been widely documented.

For example, chimpanzees are seen to comfort their distressed group members after conflicts.

That said, aggression within a species is also common in the animal kingdom. This is often related to competition for resources, mates, or social status.

For instance, rats may fight for territory, but they don’t appear to enjoy the act of harming their opponents. But relishing a thrill by causing pain is a trait seen in humans.

Even before the inception of the internet, bullying always existed. However, the digital era has amplified this behavior through the online disinhibition effect.

According to this phenomenon, when online, people often share more about themselves or behave more intensely than they would face-to-face.

This happens due to six factors, which include dissociative anonymity (feeling unidentifiable), invisibility (not being seen), asynchronicity (delayed responses), solipsistic introjection (imagining interactions), dissociative imagination (viewing online actions as separate from real life), and minimization of authority (reduced sense of rules). Therefore, it becomes easier for individuals to harass others without feeling immediate guilt or remorse.

One example is the case of trolls on social media platforms. Trolls often post hurtful or offensive comments to provoke and upset others.

It is seen that these individuals often experience a sense of power and pleasure from online bullying. The lack of direct confrontation and the ability to hide behind a screen can make this behavior more appealing. Here, the brain’s reward system might get activated.

Both humans and other mammals share similar brain structures related to aggression and reward.

When threatened or competing for resources, these areas become activated, which triggers a fight-or-flight response and potentially feelings of dominance or satisfaction. But that said, the prefrontal cortex is more developed in humans. It means that unlike in animals where aggression is instinctual, humans can choose their actions. And they choose online harassment!