Sometimes I think atheists enjoy being trolled by believers. I really do. I think that some are out on social media for the sole purpose of stirring people up to the point of getting some nasty response, then can sit back and make fun of the other person.

I actually asked someone once why they responded to people who were either responding to a tweet or just happened to find them on Twitter why they even bothered to reply. I was told, kind of matter-of-factly  that it was because that person tweeted them.

Well, just because someone tweets you, someone you don’t know or have never interacted with tweets you, doesn’t obligate anyone to respond. 

Of course, some of the same people I see complain about the Christian trolls out on the net seem to be doing the same.  So then I always think, who’s trolling whom? When any of us say something on social media that we know absolutely will offend someone, then yep, we’re trolling. I’ve done it myself.

Bait that hook, toss it into the Internet, and see who’ll take a bite. Sometimes the back and forth can humorous but often it’s not. I’ve mostly stopped my interactions with those that seem to want nothing more than a nasty argument. I will respond if there’s a personal attack, but even then, most of the time I just ignore the other person. Eventually, they’ll disappear into the ether.

The only value I see it any of this is entertainment for people that are bored. Or, being a bit more cynical, people wanting to raise their profile in whichever world they exist.

I’ve been skipping by these and I think I’ll continue to focus on doing just that.  It’s a waste of time where I could be more productive elsewhere.