Social Media Comments — A Look into the Psyche behind the People
Looking through social media comments, it becomes pretty clear that you get a slew of different personalities behind a keyboard. What becomes interesting to see is how people act once they feel there are no repercussions to what they say and believe in.
This used to be a major problem in video game chats, as people would randomly be discriminatory and disrespectful. This issue led to a complete overhaul in how they were set up.
Today, I’ll discuss social media comments, the types of commenters that can be found on places such as YouTube and Instagram, and their commenting style.
How Commenting Systems Have Changed Throughout the Years
User commenting started on the internet in the early 2000s when different social media and blogging platforms became popular. Soon after that, a basic user commenting system became a standard for blogging. In fact, WordPress still gives that basic comment system to its users for every blog.
Around 2006, the trend of having a third party commenting system become popular. These systems offer deeper integration into social media, organized comment thread user-experience, moderation tools, and variations on the concept of up-voting. That was a major shift in how comments were posted and moderated.
In 2014, many websites started to suspend their commenting sections. Some of them replaced comment sections with a “letter to editor” feature.
In addition to the features of the comment systems from the 2000s, most comment systems today offer features like spam filtering, live listeners, and nested comments.
Types of Commenters on Social Media
Let’s take a look at different types of commenters and the psychology behind each type of commenter’s personality.
Positive Commenters
Let’s start with the positive commenters. These people are generally positive but honest — This doesn’t mean that they only post positive responses, but it is more genuine overall.
Let’s say you run a digital marketing agency. You recently held a seminar on social media management. If people found it helpful, you can expect them to post positive comments on your next blog post or YouTube video.
The best way to respond to these comments is by sending them a thank-you note. These comments are a great way to build long-term relationships with your clients.
Mostly, these people are optimistic. They have a positive perception of the world and don’t look for things to complain about. Even if you don’t get a positive response, they will be genuine. Only these people can give you insightful comments. So take these comments as constructive criticism and improve your services if needed.
Negative Commenters
These people are negative in the majority of their posts. In my opinion, this reflects their own perception of the world. They always find a way to see the bad parts of the world.
These people are pessimists. In every conversion, they’ll complain about something. Their constant lamenting repels people in their lives, so they turn to social media comments to spread their negativity. Avoiding them is a good move in most cases.
Trolls
These people are deliberate trouble-makers. They are trolls who say hurtful and disrespectful comments to get a reaction out of people. Psychologists consider them extroverts. They gain energy from social activity.
These people crave attention. So if you respond to them, they’ll troll you more. If you try deleting their comments, they’ll come back under a different name. The best thing you can do about them is to ignore them.
This may reflect their own perceived lack of control in life. Because they feel this way, they attempt to manipulate others’ emotions by disagreeing with or disrespecting you, without a valid reason behind it.
Offensive and Derogatory Commenters
These people have unpopular opinions (sometimes discriminatory).
These are the people who are emboldened because they are relatively anonymous in these comment sections. They use this to perpetuate opinions that many others may find disrespectful towards a specific race, gender, or group of people in society.
A few examples of this include people who spread racial supremacy or how a particular movement is bad and offensive (Even though it may not have anything to do with them). Sometimes, they speak out against diseases and safety precautions used to combat them, like vaccinating, wearing masks, etc.
The worst part about these fringe dwellers is that they seem to be the most opinionated. This may cause some to assume that their opinions are more popular than they really are.
Psychologists call them neurotic. They have a great amount of emotional instability. And most of the time, they come off as anxious or irritating. The best way to deal with them is by reporting them to the concerned authorities. Remember that they can hurt someone. So, the sooner you report them, the better it is.
Final Words on Social Media Comments
Today, I discussed the different types of people commenting on social media and how commenting systems changed over time. If you are on the internet, you’ll find every type of person.
The truth is that when people are behind a keyboard, it exposes the real “them.” I am not saying that every person who posts social media comments is bad. The fact is that they don’t have to fake anything, so their real side comes out. It’s a sad reality.
Have you ever been a victim of these social media comments? Or do you have a way to tackle them?
Do let me know in, well, the comments.
