Good natured teasing?

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I think it's quite a complicated 'issue', and there are many points, which have already been made, that explain the complexities of it.

I've simplified it (for myself), to this:

Good natured teasing is when you are given the opportunity to respond; (i.e. they tease you directly, waiting for your 'comeback'), they expect you to take part and insult them back. (More often than not, it's between people who know each other relatively well and the subject of the teasing is pretty innocuous)

Malicious teasing is when it's done in a way where you aren't given the option to respond or defend yourself, (i.e. they tease you from the fringes, from afar or in such a convoluted way that you cannot respond.) This is their 'fun', they are excluding you from the teasing, but also trying to get at you or make you look bad. (The subject of the teasing may be more inflammatory and possibly an opportunity for the perpetrator to engage their spiteful, overactive imagination; they don't know the person, so they can make up what they like).
As long as they look good, their target looks, feels bad and they get a laugh out of others, they've achieved what they wanted........(still not sure what it is they've achieved though!)


I've never really understood the attraction in making fun of/teasing someone, whether it's good natured or malicious; can't understand what people get out of it, nor why they'd want to waste precious time saying any of it. It's putting people down , why would you want to do that?