Are you aware that a Norwich Pharmacal Order, a legal mechanism, is in place to hold keyboard warriors accountable for online defamation, harassment, and threats? That is, there are legal consequences of cyberbullying. Originally, a keyboard warrior refers to an individual who posts highly opinionated or contentious messages online, often masking their true identity, or never leaving a trace. Although one of the primary reasons for such an action is to protect personal information and/or prevent identity theft, it, unfortunately, has become a prevalent practice to stir up drama, attract attention, or spread fear or propaganda recently.

*The article is inspired by Daily writing prompt

what makes an individual a keyboard warrior in modern day

Some of the earliest policing systems, from a historical standpoint, can date back to an organization created in Egypt about 3000 B.C.E., and followed by ancient China commonly recorded between 2070 B.C.E. and 1600 B.C.E. during the Xia dynasty. Unlike the formation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Canada, many policing systems in the world were built on colonial control in lieu of peacekeeping. For this reason, freedom of speech is rather a modern concept. A keyboard warrior, from this perspective, may not always be a conscious choice linked to a specific personality trait, but an inevitable result of oppression and unresolved internal conflicts passed down due to historical reasons.

Examples of what makes an individual a keyboard warrior in today’s world:

• An oppressed worker by day, a world police by night
• A socially awkward person by day, a peacemaker by night
• An ineffective oral communicator by day, an author, journalist or detective by night

On the other hand, common behaviours of an accidental keyboard warrior are:

• Overanalyzing: read too much into a generic message
• Overgeneralizing: overlook that individual experience varies
• Oversharing or overexplaining: rebut criticisms

from a keyboard warrior to a strong communicator

To become a strong communicator instead of a keyword warrior, understanding the history of freedom of speech and the complexity of human nature is the first step. Did you know “freedom of speech”, or “freedom of expression” (a broader term), is not only influenced by Athenian democracy but also by overall health and economic conditions?

from a macro-level perspective

A 2024 Stanford Report concerning political science indicated a senior student, Adams, who pointed out that the US modelled its democracy after Athenian democracy, which was known to be flawed, for it restricted democratic participation amongst women and slaves; therefore, the system is flawed. The truth is, when a system is biased, despite being conscious of this, anyone can become a keyboard warrior or an accidental keyboard warrior. Why?

On December 2, 1766, Sweden made history by declaring that freedom of expression is part of civil rights. Although Sweden was the first country to actualize such impactful human rights, according to The Human Freedom Index (HF) 2025, co-published by U.S. and Canadian think tanks, Sweden’s HF, like most countries on the top 15 list, experienced continued declines between 2000 and 2023, especially deteriorated by the lasting effect of the pandemic (from late 2019 to May 2023). That is to say, “freedom of expression” (human freedom) is correlated to a country’s economic development (which is also affected by public health, though not being included in the metrics).

On that note, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (2026) showed that the prospect of the global economy remains unclear due to trade tensions, fiscal strains and persistent uncertainty. In other words, the better the outlook of the global economy is, the more people feel hopeful. The more people feel secure, the less hostile they are towards one another online, anonymously.

from a micro-level perspective

With that in mind, Trevor Noah, Emmy Award winner, recently spoke about the real reason he believed people blame immigrants for an economic downturn in his podcast. He said, “When you’re doing well, when your economy is doing well, when things around you are doing well, you’ll be shocked at how you don’t notice immigrants”. This echoes why there seems to be more keyboard warriors (e.g., trolls) nowadays. When a person isn’t doing well, they start to notice and find a target (distractor) to blame.

Defense mechanisms, by Sigmund Freud, were later defined by Anna Freud, daughter of Sigmund Freud, as “unconscious resources used by the ego”, which is to decrease internal stress or conflict ultimately. All in all, the root cause of trolling is to maintain a big ego masked by deep-seated insecurity. Similarly, this applies to accidental keyboard warriors, who feel compelled to start a rebuttal instead of sitting with discomfort.

Berelevant Network educates, not Indoctrinates

If you want to be a strong, effective communicator or build a trusted team, first things first, you need to know how to choose the right resources. The following are three crucial questions you can ask yourself before committing to an educational service:

• How fast do I want to see the outcome? (the expectations)
• What is my financial prospect? (the reality)
• Why do I seek help now? (the purpose)

Always remember to bring all your questions to the service provider before making a transaction, including the service delivery model, program details and outcomes if these are not readily accessible.

Lastly, Berelevant Network educates, not indoctrinates. The Berelevant Network Team utilizes a dynamic learning system (see approaches) to teach human skills holistically. Rather than lecturing, the team encourages brainstorming and emphasizes Q&A learning. Ready to join? Schedule a free session or request a free demo anytime!

references

Walsh, W.F., Banton, M.P., Brodeur, J., Kelling, G.L. & Whetstone, T. (2024, July 29). The history of policing in the West. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/police/The-history-of-policing-in-the-West

Britannica Editors. (2026, April 9). Xia dynasty. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Xia-dynasty

Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (2025, March 6). RCMP origin story. https://rcmp.ca/en/history-rcmp/rcmp-origin-story

Witte, M.D. (2024, March 31). What the ancient Greeks can teach us about democracy. Stanford Report. https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2024/03/learning-about-democracy-in-ancient-greece

Sweden. (2021). The Swedish Freedom of the Press Ordinance of 1766: The world’s first legislation guaranteeing free communication of information. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/swedish-freedom-press-ordinance-1766-worlds-first-legislation-guaranteeing-free-communication

Vásquez, I, Mitchell, M.D., Murphy, R & Schneider, G.S. (2025). Human Freedom Index. The Cato Institute. https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index/2025

UN Conference on Trade and Development. (2026). World Economic Situation and Prospects 2026. https://unctad.org/publication/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-2026

What Now? with Trevor Noah. (2026, Jun 3). Why People Blame Immigrants When the Economy Gets Worse [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qol0McROMzA

Bailey, R & Pico, J. (2023, May 22). Defense Mechanisms. National Library of Medicine. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559106/