Forget anonymity: Internet trolls are more abusive when using their real names, study finds

Many have blamed the ability to remain anonymous for social media’s widespread bullying problems. But it turns out those who hide behind screen names aren’t necessarily the most abusive kind of Internet trolls, according to a new study. Lea Stahel, a sociology researcher at the University of Zurich, and a team of researchers set out to find evidence that online anonymity encouraged the kind of abusive behaviour we often see during social media “firestorms” – when a group of people gang up and hurl hundreds of rude, vulgar and sometimes violent remarks at their targets.

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