Why Do We Hurt?

(That isn't really the royal "we". It's the "we" that means every human that has ever walked this planet, or if that human didn't have any feet or for some reason couldn't walk, has ever existed on this planet. I understand that there is probably a really nice person somewhere in the world who either can't talk or hasn't hurt anyone ever, but I'm just generalizing here, because the majority of people on this planet probably have done something offensive in their lifetimes).

When the Internet was first created a long, long time ago (like, the 1950s), it was meant to be a new and amazing advancement in technology. Now, sixty years and billions of emails, tweets, and instant messages later, it's something that we take for granted, and, more often than not, abuse. 

What is it in typing that makes it just so easy to hurt somebody, just by tapping out few letters and pressing send? What is the drive that pushes somebody to do this? Instead of having to face the person and spill out the insults, all that's needed is a device and some creativity, and BAM, you've ruined someone's day. Is it just a sport, to go around to different blogs and Facebook pages and see how much venom you can inject into someone's work, just for the sake of it? Trolls are interesting creatures, but no matter how much studying, it would be nearly impossible to find out everything about every single one. 

Maybe I'm just generalizing again, but the act of hurting seems to have just a few different motives: you (the hurter) is personally hurting (low self-esteem, troubled past, whatever), it's just fun to see how much you can manipulate someone, or you actually really are offended by something that has been said, but can't express your opinions in an acceptable manner. There's absolutely no reason to go onto someone's blog and go off on an foul-mouthed rampage about how much you hate something that you see there, even if it's just a random post that really has nothing to do with you. There's absolutely no reason to hurl destructive comments at somebody's writing, ruining that person's confidence in that piece. Is it because you don't think that your writing is as good, so you feel the need to hurt everybody who has more developed writing than you? There's absolutely no reason to ridicule somebody because of his or her faith, and call the entire religion names just because you don't belong to it. There's absolutely no reason to mess with people, steal identities, and try to ruin friendships, because there is no gain for anyone in that, unless you count the satisfaction of watching people struggle. 

Unfortunately, trolls will be out there no matter what. You can never really know if it's somebody sitting at a computer with no life except messing with the lives of others, a bully on Facebook or something with low self-esteem, or just someone with a really, really bad temper. It doesn't exactly work to guilt them, because it either bounces back to you or just can't quite pierce the remorse part of their hearts, but it does work to not be easily intimidated by them. Ignore them, or, if you have to, reply with facts, mild language, and a calm manner. We hurt because sometimes we're hurting, too, and a nudge in the right direction might be the key to helping someone get back on track.