Sorry for the Buzz Feed link, but it's the easiest site to host this on. I'm trying to practice my writing skills so I figured I take a crack at summarizing a study I read about this morning. I'm not really confident with my writing style or proof reading, but I'm hoping that gets better with practice. Feedback is greatly appreciated.
You forgot an 's' in others in a line right after the hang yourself with chicken wire. As long as I'm mentioning that line, chicken wire fencing isn't really the kind of thing you could make into a noose. Check out Medium. It's like long form Twitter and it isn't Buzzfeed
A bit short, but it was easy enough to read. I like that you provided your sources... As for the matter at hand, I think that video games (competitive) + anonymity = breeding grounds for bad behavior. I don't think that most people get online with the intentions to become a troll, but I think that being exposed to it will change you and your ideas about it. I have been online gaming since I was 9. I am 21 now, and have spent far too much time online. I have noticed the most toxic communities are in games where skill is a major factor. In non-pvp MMO's, there are relatively few toxic players. Go play a PvP game, say ArcheAge, and I would say half the players are "trolls." But I guess we gotta talk about what a "troll" is.. Because there is a very large distinction between toxicity and trolling. Toxicity is just a bad attitude and often times unchecked aggression, most of the time these players are just acting out of frustration at events. Trolls, not so much. Trolls are an inclusive group. If you talk to a pre-teen gamer, being a troll is cool. Go on twitch chat, plenty of them there. Here's the deal: it provides a social group for people. I would say the majority of trolls are harmless and just doing it for the "lulz." They have their own sense of humor, while it can be antagonizing, it doesn't mean anything. Most trolls hold the same attitude in person as they do online, because they spend so much time online, the internet is ingrained into the psyche. Which, I feel, plays into the internet confidence from the article. The internet becomes a second home for anyone who spends enough time on it. It's just a playground. I think you should define what a troll is. Because the trolls I know aren't malignant, they just don't take online interactions seriously. I think cyber-bullying unto itself is a different breed from the troll.
The study is behind a paywall, but from what I can tell the study suggests a correlation between video games and bullying. The tone of your article makes it sound like there is causation. Other then that, very well written, the troll picture made me laugh.
I think pictures like that do more harm than good. The trolls who fit that stereotype are just going to get more vicious because they feel under attack, and the trolls who don't fit that stereotype are just going to be emboldened because they are healthy and young.