With so many different people on the internet, you have a lot of opportunities when it comes to finding friends! The problem is, you’ve also got a lot of opportunities to find people trying to be the opposite of friendly.

A common occurrence on the internet is running into people who are trying to make you angry on purpose. Some names this kind of person may be referred to as include “troll” or, more recently, “ragebaiter.”

But why would anyone want to make you angry? It’s hard to say for sure, every person, even trolls have their own lives and reasons for everything, but a fairly common answer is because they want attention. They want to be noticed or to feel popular online, and they get that by making you angry, therefore ruining your internet experience.

So, let’s talk about how to avoid that!

The first step is to identify when someone is being a troll in the first place. Plenty of people online will hold different opinions to you; you may run across them on your own, or they may be responding to you directly. This may make you angry, and that’s normal! It doesn’t automatically make this person a ragebaiter, though. The key difference between a ragebaiter and a person who happens to make you angry is the intent: are they trying to upset you on purpose or not? When it’s intentional is when the person is a troll.

But how can you tell when a person is being upsetting on purpose? One big sign is when they are responding if they ignore any rebuttal, or are clearly avoiding parts of what you or someone else has said. Purposefully missing the point like this is a great way to make people angry. Wouldn’t you be upset if you were trying to make a point and you weren’t being listened to? Similarly, they may put words in your mouth, or take the worst possible conclusion from what you say.

Now you can identify a troll! That isn’t where this stops, though. It won’t do you any good to keep arguing with someone like this once you’ve figured them out. Therefore the next step follows pretty naturally: disengage.

When you encounter a troll, be it by stumbling upon an ongoing conversation with one, or by realizing one has found you online, the best course of action is to disengage. Either move on without interacting, or promptly quit interacting if you already were. It can be tempting to prove this person wrong, or to tell others how frustrating they are, but that is actually the opposite of helpful. By doing so, you would be giving them exactly the kind of attention they’re looking for. You will also likely feel a lot better yourself by moving on! Instead of worrying about this person, you can walk away happier having not spent any attention on them.

Remember, the key to a good internet experience is to do what is best for you! There’s no need to give your time to people who aim to upset you. Take a step back, and continue on your merry way enjoying the internet to its fullest extent.