As the internet gained popularity, anonymity allowed for individuals to explore the world wide web without having to worry about who or what they were being watched by. This allowed people to freely share opinions, communicate with strangers via chat rooms, and also view content without sharing their identity. At the beginning, this seemed like a feature of the internet, something that was a newly opened door that had little to no harm. But as the internet has evolved, so have the ramifications of anonymity.
Many social media sites and online platforms have begun to enact real name policies. These policies require some form of verification that you are who you say you are, and that you supply a name in the first place. These policies can help to protect individuals from anonymous harassment and even false information. Through enacting real name policies, online platforms can also maintain accountability on their site.
Anonymity provides a mask to people, creating an environment where it is significantly easier to get away with doing things. Through the use of anonymous speech, individuals gain the ability to use their online profiles to potentially harm other people while hiding behind a mask. Just like how people act differently when someone is watching, people also act differently when their identity isn’t readily available.
The Harms of Anonymity
People gain the confidence to insult individuals and to lie about others when there is no risk of being caught. This brings us to the issue of maintaining accountability in an anonymous world. In order to seek justice, individuals need to know who it is that has harmed them. If we live in a world where nobody ever has to worry about being caught online, people will say whatever they want to say at the expense of others' well-being. Cyber bullying has become an increasingly large issue that schools and society as a whole has to deal with. Many different factors contribute to cyberbullying, but anonymity makes it significantly easier to get away with and increases the likelihood of issues.
I’m sure that many of us have encountered anonymous text forums in our life, and we probably all know somebody who has experienced cyberbullying on these forums. One example that comes to mind is the anonymous YOLO posts that were all over Snapchat. Most people I know didn’t have too many issues with these posts, but a few of my friends did encounter cyberbullying as soon as an anonymous forum was opened up to them, and it had serious impacts on their mental health. Some cases, such as 16 year old Carson Bride’s experience in 2020, have lead to suicide. Bride’s family sued Snapchat and the anonymous messaging apps YOLO and LMK for failing to comply with their own policies surrounding cyberbullying.
The Benefits of Anonymity
It is undeniable that anonymity has adverse effects on people’s mental health and communication online, but there are some benefits to anonymity. One of the primary advantages of anonymity is that it allows for people to be themselves without worrying about what other people think. Without being able to mask their true identity, some people are not confident enough to speak up online, and so anonymity grants them the ability to do so, helping to boost their confidence. It also allows people to express things without revealing private information. People can enter chat rooms that connect them to like minded individuals without having to share private information, and this can protect people from facing discrimination in the “real” world based on something they said online that isn’t truly harmful, for example sexual orientation.
So, should a real names policy be enacted on all online platforms?
Personally, I think that a real names policy is good in some circumstances but shouldn't always be applied. The real names policy allows for people to be protected online from harassment, but it also blocks some freedom of speech and can reveal information that people aren’t ready to reveal. There needs to be a way to hold people accountable for their actions, and that falls on the companies to ensure the safety of their clients.
For the security of people, I think that a compromise could be made that doesn’t necessarily involve real names in all circumstances. All anonymous sites should collect some information to hold people accountable in the event that an issue does arise. They can have you create a profile that is linked to you, but doesn’t reveal who you are to the public. One site that I feel does this pretty well is Reddit, where you create a completely anonymous profile but it’s still linked to your email address so that you know that the information you post is still tied to you. This can ensure the safety of others by holding people accountable for their actions, and some of the confidence can be removed from the cyberbullying aspect of anonymity. But if there is an issue, is it already too late?
Sources
Barlett, Christopher. “Anonymously Hurting Others Online:The Effect of Anonymity on Cyberbullying Frequency.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 2013, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-38201-001.
Davenport, David. Anonymity on the Internet: Why the Price May Be Too High - Csl.mtu.edu. https://www.csl.mtu.edu/cs6461/www/Reading/Davenport02.pdf.
Dean, Sam. “A Teen Who Was Bullied on Snapchat Died. His Mom Is Suing to Hold Social Media Liable.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 May 2021, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-05-10/lawsuit-snap-teen-suicide-yolo-lmk.
“How Anonymity Online Can Fuel Cyberbullying - CNN Video.” CNN, Cable News Network, 3 Aug. 2017, https://www.cnn.com/videos/cnnmoney/2017/08/03/how-anonymity-online-can-fuel-cyberbullying.cnn-tech.
Wang, Zuoming. Anonymity Effects and Implications in the Virtual Environment: From Crowd to Computer-Mediated Communication. Scientific Research Publishing, 16 Nov. 2017, https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=81714.
“Who Is Harmed by a ‘Real Names’ Policy?” Geek Feminism Wiki, https://geekfeminism.fandom.com/wiki/Who_is_harmed_by_a_%22Real_Names%22_policy%3F.
Nate,
ReplyDeleteThis was a really good write-up that addressed both sides of the issue well. I agree with you that anonymity has its place. People act differently when they know their actions cannot be traced back to them. I liked your example of Reddit, because you have anonymous usernames but your information is still attached to the account for those in charge of it. I think it is interesting to note that I often see Reddit posts prefaced with "throwaway account," where people make an account (and sometimes an email address) wholly for that one post so that it cannot be traced back to them. Even so, the email requirement does create one trace back to the original user, and oftentimes the simple threat of that is enough to keep people from being too risky online. I like Reddit's approach best for most social media personally.
DeleteYet even seemingly with a system that aims to bolster the freedom of content/social media creation and posting, anonymity also has its many drawbacks. For one, as Nate mentioned earlier, frequent bullying occurrences may become routine to many users as anonymity prevents the tracking or identification of any person. This anonymous feature also tends to lead to illegal activities being conducted online, like human trafficking or selling various drugs. To this end, anonymity should be a feature employed by social media platforms among their users. Still, accurate name verification should be mandatory when signing up for an anonymous account. This method will allow social media platforms to be more regulatory in monitoring their users' accounts for illegal activities while allowing users to remain anonymous and safe from the dangerous place we call the internet.
Hey Nate! Fascinating blog post about the pros and cons of anonymity. After reading your blog, I believe that while a "real names" policy, as you mentioned, would be beneficial in fostering a safer environment and assuming more accountability for each user, anonymity should be an option regardless. I see this because on Reddit, for example, the anonymity features, while not necessarily supporting a friendly environment, cultivate more free speech and open discourse. As we discussed earlier in class this week, we often find constraints and regulations enforced upon users that either push one agenda or limit their free speech, thus resulting in less open discourse and conveying of one's idea. As such, anonymity, allowing everyone not to have to identify with a particular identity, allows for more thoughts and ideas not customarily shared on other social media platforms. In this respect, social media can be more genuine and honest, as users share their authentic experiences and feelings instead of what they believe they should say.
ReplyDeleteHi Nate! I really enjoyed reading your blog this week. I think you were able to show both arguments about online anonymity well. Personally, I find that the "real name" policy can be detrimental to free speech and personal safety. I think you identified a nice compromise by referencing Reddit's policy. While I think there should be an option for some anonymity online, verified personal information should be collected when signing up for an account. My thought is that sharing some personal info when signing up instills a level of accountability online while still maintaining anonymity to the public. Thanks again for coming up with a great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post that adequately summarizes both sides of the argument! There certainly are situations where real-name policies would be better, and others where anonymity is best. I like your idea of compromising, and though I think there will always be issues with cyberbullying, social media programs can do their best to ensure these issues are dealt with swiftly and efficiently. I feel like arguably it will always be "too late" since I think there will always be the issue of cyberbullying, and it's very tough to create an environment that is completely devoid of that. I think what's important is how social media moderation teams are able to deal with cyberbullying when it comes up and the measures they take to prevent it as best they can, one of these measures perhaps being linking accounts to emails or something similar and banning people.
ReplyDeleteThe death of Carson Bride is tragic, but perhaps the method of prevention in future cases isn't targeting the root cause, it's limiting the effects. Cyberbullies and trolls will harass no matter what, as seen by the 0.09% decrease in cyberbullying after Korea's real name policy was enacted. (see: Jorge's essay) Instead of attempting to prevent harassment by only limiting everyone's privacy, websites should make a grander attempt at promoting positive mental health and appropriate use of the internet. With anonymous posters, targeted harassment can often be circumvented by simply logging off (this is not true all the time, but in many cases).
ReplyDeleteI do have to say as someone who games frequently and uses websites like discord a lot. I am very often asked to give my personal information like my name or email and often they track what games I play and recommend me to play certain ones. This is great, but then the other problem becomes that people now can have my personal information. I love how to tackled both of these sides in the blog post.
ReplyDeleteThus was from Jaskehar
DeleteI think this post handled both sides of the issue well. Anonymity can provide protection to people who just want to maintain privacy, but it also protects people with bad intentions. For bullies, the anonymous button is a way of escaping the consequences they would face if they were to behave like they do online in their real lives. They can say whatever they want, and though they might get blocked, if there is no way to connect back to their real lives they won't get fired or arrested, or even harm their reputation. I think a big part of the problem as well is when people are interacting online and everyone is using fake names, there can be a sort of disconnect where it is harder to view the person you are talking to as a human being. For these reasons, I can see why a real names policy might be desired, but at they same time, I don't think it would fully solve the problem. There would still be bullying online, it would just make it so that more people would feel like they can't say what they want to or express themselves in a safe space because their name would be attached.
ReplyDeleteIn lieu of a real names policy, I think more serious moderation can be a solution to online trolling and bullying. Often major tech companies will look the other way in cases of trans-phobia, racism, or other forms of hate speech, and will only take action if the perpetrator has a large enough platform. The difference between 100 people spewing hate speech in the comments versus one person with 2 million followers making a post inciting it is significant, but the reason they are able to maintain 2 million followers is because their followers are often going unpunished.
ReplyDeleteThe double edge sword of anonymity is a difficult problem to face. I think a fair compromise is to have companies such as reddit collect information such as an email to keep individuals accountable for explicit language such as hate speech. The issue of cyberbullying is equally as challenging. Personally, I have seen extensive bullying on the app extention for snapchat Yolo. It is so sad to hear of children who have taken their own life over internet bullying. Great post!
ReplyDelete