Online Anonymity: The real us or what we could be if allowed?
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. — Oscar Wilde
One of the most impressive aspects of the internet is the ability to give voice to those who are being deliberately silenced. To those who need more detail about a certain subject but do not want to be caught looking for it. The majority of online individuals unwittingly fit that description. What is the common denominator for all these people? Online Anonymity!
According to vocabulary.com,
The noun anonymity comes from a Greek word meaning “without a name.” If you have anonymity, you have namelessness, and people will not know who you are.
Online anonymity applies to any interaction a user has on the internet that protects their identity from being shared with another user or with a third party. This has made it much easier for people to openly share their opinions on a wide range of subjects, some critical, and some minor.
When you post anonymously online, no one knows who you are, which allows you to debate critical and divisive topics like abortion and politics more openly without fear of being judged and reprimanded. Factors like status, gender, etc., do not influence the evaluation of what an anonymous individual says. There is equality and a much more objective response to a message. Sure, you might get a lot of flak for it online, but you can still walk away from your keyboard whenever you want.
Conversely, online anonymity exposes our “desired” selves. Most of the time if not all the time, we are our “real” selves when we are unidentifiable. People are less vulnerable about opening up because they can distinguish their acts from their everyday life and personality. Whatever they say or do online has no bearing on the rest of their lives. They are not required to accept responsibility for their actions by accepting them in the light of who they “actually” are. When acting out aggressive emotions, the individual is not required to accept blame for his or her acts. People are quick to reassure themselves that those habits “aren’t at all like me.” A behavior referred to as “dissociation” in psychology.
Anonymity allows us to explore various aspects of our personalities without jeopardizing the credibility of any other aspect of ourselves. While operating online, incognito brings out of us what we could be if allowed. We can perform actions online that we will never do in person. The untraceability and namelessness anonymity offers make us forge totally different online personas. For instance, we can make ourselves a nuisance without fear of retribution.
It is the freedom of expression and courage to solve everyday issues (we could never do in real-life scenarios) that entice us to be nameless. Online Anonymity sheds a complex mix of both our real selves and what we could be if allowed when interacting online.
Until next time…
