Prediction of Trolling behavior from sadism and Internet addiction in young adults of Buenos Aires

Authors

  • Pablo Christian González Caino Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2387-5777
  • Santiago Resett Universidad Argentina de la Empresa, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7337-0617

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24016/2020.v6n3.178

Keywords:

Trolling, prediction, sadism, Internet, use

Abstract

Background: Trolling is a very topical phenomenon, but much less studied unlike other problems related to new technologies. The present study evaluated the levels of trolling in adults from sadism and internet addiction. Method: For this purpose, an intentional sample of 708 adults of both genders (56% women, age M = 25 years SD = 8.7), from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA) and Greater Buenos Aires (GBA), Argentina is selected. Participants answered the Trolling Questionnaire by Buckels et al., On Sadistic Tendencies by Paulhus et al., On Internet Addiction by Lam-Figueroa et al. and a demographic questionnaire. The data indicated that both vicarious sadism, outright sadism, and dysfunctionality in Internet use were predictors of trolling. Results: The results suggested an association of trolling with age and differences according to gender. A structural model to predict trolling based on sadism as a latent variable and internet addiction shows an adequate fit CFI = .99, TLI = .98, RMSEA = .04, indicating that sadism predicted trolling and internet addiction. Conclusion:  Sadism is an important predictor for trolling behavior over the internet, where individuals with these characteristics take advantage of anonymity to carry out their aggressive behaviors.

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Published

2020-12-10

How to Cite

González Caino, P. C., & Resett, S. (2020). Prediction of Trolling behavior from sadism and Internet addiction in young adults of Buenos Aires. Interacciones, 6(3), e178. https://doi.org/10.24016/2020.v6n3.178

Issue

Vol. 6, Num. 3 (2020): September - December

Section

Original paper

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