Being Called a “Suicide Troll”

There are insults, there are accusations, and then there are words that carry a weight far greater than the person throwing them may realise.

Being called a “Suicide Troll” falls into that last category.

The internet has created an environment where people can attach almost any label they want to another human being. A disagreement can become a campaign. A criticism can become an accusation. A username can become a character assassination. And before long, a person can find themselves being described in ways that bear little resemblance to who they actually are.

“Suicide Troll” is a particularly serious label because it combines two things: the language of online harassment and the subject of suicide.

Suicide isn't a punchline. It isn't a convenient insult. It isn't a word that should be casually thrown around simply because someone dislikes another person's behaviour, opinions or online presence.

Yet social media has a strange way of making extraordinary statements seem ordinary.

When an insult becomes an identity.

One of the most damaging aspects of online conflict is the attempt to reduce a complicated human being to a single label.

Instead of saying, “I disagree with what this person said,” someone says, “He's a troll.”

Instead of saying, “I think that behaviour was inappropriate,” the accusation becomes something much more extreme.

Eventually, the label becomes the story.

The person being labelled is no longer treated as an individual capable of explanation, disagreement, mistakes, humour or change. They become a character in somebody else's narrative.

Being called a “Suicide Troll” can therefore feel like more than being insulted. It can feel like somebody is attempting to define you publicly.

But a label is not proof. An accusation is not automatically a fact. And repetition does not transform an allegation into evidence.

The strange psychology of online conflict.

There is something fascinating about the way internet communities can behave.

People who might never say something so extreme to another person's face can type it confidently from behind a keyboard.

A disagreement becomes entertainment. An argument becomes content. A person's distress becomes something to comment upon. And eventually, the human being at the centre of the argument can disappear behind the screen.

This is one reason online disputes can become so toxic. People stop responding to individuals and start responding to the version of those individuals that exists inside their own community.

Once someone has been declared “the enemy”, almost anything they do can be interpreted through that assumption.

If they respond, they're obsessed. If they remain silent, they're guilty. If they defend themselves, they're playing the victim. If they laugh, they're insensitive. If they become angry, they're dangerous.

There can be no winning because the narrative has already been constructed.

Suicide should never be weaponised

There is an important distinction between discussing suicide responsibly and using suicide-related language as an insult.

The former can save lives. The latter can cause harm.

People struggling with suicidal thoughts deserve compassion, professional support and an environment in which they can speak honestly without being ridiculed.

That means everyone should think carefully before using suicide-related language during an internet argument.

Words matter.

They matter particularly when they touch upon subjects involving death, self-harm and mental health.

Even when someone believes they are merely “trolling” another person, there is a real human being on the other side of the screen.

The irony of the troll label.

There is also an irony in calling somebody a troll.

The word “troll” traditionally describes somebody who deliberately provokes others for attention or amusement.

But online arguments can create a situation where everyone becomes part of the trolling ecosystem.

One person makes a provocative statement. Another responds. Someone clips the response. Someone else reposts the clip. Another person comments beneath it. Then another video is produced about the original video.

Suddenly, everyone is talking about everyone else.

The argument becomes self-sustaining. The original disagreement almost becomes irrelevant. What remains is the spectacle. And perhaps that is the real lesson.

Sometimes the most effective response to an online insult isn't to become consumed by it.

It is to step back and ask:

• What exactly is being claimed?

• What evidence supports it?

• Is this criticism, or simply name-calling?

• Is the person trying to establish a fact, or provoke a reaction?

Those questions are much more useful than simply trading insults.

I am more than somebody else's label.

Being called a “Suicide Troll” doesn't determine who I am.

Neither does any other label somebody chooses to attach to me.

I am a human being with a history, relationships, ambitions, mistakes, successes, failures, opinions and contradictions.

So is everyone else.

The internet encourages us to forget that.

• Behind every username is a person.

• Behind every profile picture is a human being.

• Behind every argument is somebody with a life that continues after the comment section has moved on to its next target.

That doesn't mean criticism should be prohibited. People are entitled to disagree. People are entitled to challenge one another. People are entitled to express strong opinions.

But there is a difference between criticising someone's conduct and attempting to destroy someone's identity.

There is a difference between saying, “I think you are wrong,” and saying, “This is what you are.”

And there is an enormous difference between discussing suicide responsibly and turning the word into ammunition.

The choice to walk away

Perhaps the greatest power available to somebody caught in an online war is the ability to refuse to play the game.

• Not every accusation requires an answer.

• Not every insult deserves a counter-insult.

• Not every troll deserves another troll.

Sometimes the most powerful statement is simply:

“You can call me whatever you want. It doesn't make it true.”

The internet may give people the ability to manufacture labels in seconds.

It does not give them the power to decide who another human being actually is.

And that is something worth remembering—not only when somebody calls me a “Suicide Troll”, but whenever we are tempted to reduce another human being to a name on a screen.