The Psychology of Keyboard Warriors Through David J. Pollay’s Garbage Truck Theory
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jsshrs/V2E8/2026-06Keywords:
Digital Aggression, Garbage Truck Theory, Keyboard Warriors, Moral Disengagement, Online DisinhibitionAbstract
This conceptual article examines the psychology of keyboard warriors through David J. Pollay’s Garbage Truck Theory. The article addresses digital aggression as a complex phenomenon shaped by emotional states, digital communication conditions, personality tendencies, cognitive processes and social interaction. The article draws on existing literature on online disinhibition, emotional factors, Dark Tetrad traits, moral disengagement, emotional contagion and cyberbullying. It extends Pollay’s metaphor from everyday social interaction to digital communication. The analysis conceptualises digital aggression through three interconnected positions and one response dimension. The garbage carrier represents an individual who enters an interaction with accumulated negative experiences or emotions. The garbage dumper represents the transfer of negative emotional effects towards another user. The garbage receiver represents the individual exposed to such aggression. Refusal represents the recipient’s capacity to avoid absorbing or reproducing the emotional negativity. This conceptual extension highlights the role of emotional regulation in interrupting hostile interaction. The article argues that Garbage Truck Theory offers a useful interpretive lens for connecting individual psychological experiences with the social dynamics of digital aggression. However, the theory remains a conceptual metaphor and does not establish causal relationships or imply that all keyboard warriors share similar psychological conditions. The article provides a theoretical basis for understanding digital aggression while identifying directions for future empirical investigation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mohamad Murad Mahyudin Muheji (Ph.D.) (Author)
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