Does the Anonymity of the Internet Allow People to be Meaner?
The Internet community does offer users a number of outlets to express their personal opinions and thoughts, from chat rooms to message forums to comment submission forms. Many of these interactive web pages encourage or even require participants to remain anonymous or create alternative identities. The anonymity of the Internet may provide a level of privacy for users in the real world, but it can also enable certain participants to become much more aggressive or mean-spirited than they would be without the promise of anonymity. There is no doubt that the anonymity of the Internet has allowed some users to express their opinions with others more confidently or without the usual social filters found in the offline world. However, the same anonymity of the Internet can embolden others to ignore Internet etiquette and post malicious or deliberately inflammatory messages for the sole purpose of hurting other posters or chat room participants. These mean-spirited or patently offensive Inte
Quoting: “What keeps many people from expressing intense emotions such as anger and frustration in real life is the fact they are known entities in a surprisingly small world. The anonymity of the Internet essentially levels the playing field for all participants, which could empower some users to express the darker sides of their personalities in ways that would be unthinkable in real life. The ability to post angry or mean-spirited thoughts without tangible consequences could prove to be too much of a temptation for certain personalities. While it could be argued that the anonymity of the Internet does not necessarily promote meanness or anger, it does allow users with the capacity for strong emotions to express them more easily, and with less regard for the consequences of their actions.” Both at:
I think it all would depend, once again, on the choices we make in life. In whatever conditions or situations, we always have the choice to act and respond in whatever way we think appropriate. It isn’t the anonymity factor that really governs that decision, it merely presents an opportunity. If a person chooses to be mean or kind in the face of anonymity, it reflects on who they are and the principles they live by in the world outside too. I’ve asked a question once, about how truthful we really are on cyberspace, and I’ve got some pretty amazing answers. Check out the guy who I gave the BA to. He actually included a study on the matter:- http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;… I hope I’ve more or less answered your question. It’s been a while since I’ve been actively answering questions here, so I’m a little rusty. Thanks. I hope you’ll have a great day!
I think the anonymity allows people to be more SINCERE with the people they don’t know. You can talk about secrets and things that you would not otherwise say in person without thinking about consequences. Whether this sincerety brings out the WORST or the BEST in people, depends on each person. If you are mean or angry person by nature, but in real life you are acting nice, on the internet you go all out and put an angry AVATAR even (notice how most angry messages come from angry avatars).
