Why does trash talk exist?
I'm just curious what people find enjoyable about trash talking their opponents, or ,god forbid, their own teammates. Not gonna bore you with my story, I'm just curious.
10 Comments
as far as trash talking your opponents...been going on for over 2000 years, so learn to deal. For trash talking your team mates...internet anonymity makes people very brave, and since they are clearly not playing football or at the gym...compensations must be made, plus kids are just A-Holes.
Insecurity, ignorance, and boredom
For some, they lack self-confidence and have to put others down to make themselves feel good.
For others, they just feed off the frustration of others, and the heated responses they get to their inflammatory comments are what they desire.
In both cases, and these are not the only reasons - just two common ones, the people are just insensitive and angry and childish. The best practice is to just ignore such rude comments and not 'feed the trolls.'
When a player says something inflammatory to me in-game, and I can tell from their comment that they intend to make more such comments, I just mute them and keep playing like nothing happened.
Because it's life?
People are just sad and pathetic that they feel empowered because they are hiding behind a computer.
Personally I enjoy saying funny things. Like if someone tries to gank my vlad, I counter, and get a double I'll write "Leave him alone! Can't you see he is bleeding!?"
Or if I'm playing Mao i'll say a bunch of tree puns... woody I know.
That was a quandry I was in yesterday... Was in a game and the losing team was trash talking one of our team mates. They were behind all game and their TOP afk'd after they gave up first blood, so instead of rallying and trying to win the 4v5 they pretty much just fed all game, talked ish, and then when killing ONE person on our team and then dying themselves they would talk ish on the person they killed like it was some big feat. I honestly don't get it.
Trash talk has existed since the dawn of time pretty much. It's part of a complex system of interactions designed to intimidate an opponent and convince them that they have no chance of winning while boosting the morale of the trash talker. It's part of why someone who is not doing well often is the most vocal with the trash talk. They are trying to boost their own play while hopefully taking someone out of their game.
A great example of this is the Maori tradition of chanting before battle, a tradition that has been used by the New Zealand rugby team as a way of psyching themselves up before a game. Look on You tube for a video of the New Zealand Rugby Haka. There are dozens of videos of this rather ritualized trash talk.
I don't trash talk much as I tend to try to just play intensely and the concentration required usually has me too busy to think of things to say. At most I'll say something during the first minute of the game, usually some off the wall comment or semi taunt. like if someone is playing Arcade Hecarim I'll always comment about the pink Mohawk. (I have to, it's just so... so.... Pink. :P )
Because how dare you lose to them, you should know better. it make sure you do, here is a bunch of trash talk lines