Anonymous communication online has become a point of contention as more people are using the Internet to post information without taking ownership. This type of communication is being used to explore identity, but it is also being used as way for more people to engage in negative online activity. While there are many issues with anonymous posting, the risks of allowing for anonymity do not outweigh the benefits. Allowing anonymous online posting creates opportunity for those uncomfortable with expressing themselves publicly to experiment with their identity in a safe way as well as providing a level of protection for those who wish to expose negative realities without fear of punishment. Online anonymity has become more of an issue as more …show more content…
In a study of anonymous internet usage, “online users in pseudonym mode intent to seek the protection of privacy rights” (Houn-Gee, Chen, & Yang, 2008, p. 241). It would make sense that those who are concerned with anonymity online would also be more interested in preservation of privacy. Anonymous communication lends itself strongly to those seeking protection. Scott Craig (2004) claims “protecting one from subsequent contact” and “avoiding persecution and retaliation for one’s beliefs” (p. 132) are two of the benefits of online communication. The hacking group Anonymous is a good example of this need for protection. The group of hackers, who call themselves Anons, believe they are “crusaders for justice” (Kushner, 2014, para. 15). These hackers attack anything they perceive as injustice, and use the anonymity of the group to give them more freedom to work outside of the law while still seeking what they believe to be justice. Anyone who desires protection may find anonymity a safe way to …show more content…
When studying young adults posting anonymously online, “accounts of cyberbullying were evident throughout” (Keipi & Oksanen, 2014, p. 1109). Anonymous online communication creates an easy opportunity for people to post negative comments online. People will create fake accounts to post hateful information without regard to truth or how harmful this truth can be. Anonymous online communication also creates openings for hate speech posted anonymously in forums or comments sections online. This kind of posting can be as harmful as targeted cyberbullying in the wrong situation. Cyberbullying and harassment are both difficult problems with any form of online communication and are exacerbated in anonymous situations. Those who post anonymously can create dangerous situations for others and for themselves. For example, young males were inadvertently exposed to pornographic material online, and “an induced feeling of anonymity…resulted in a greater increase in an attitude of hostile sexism” (Jae Woong & Paul, 2014, p. 831). The young males exposed in this study were harmed by their exposure. Anonymity can create a situation where a person can become both a victim and an
The word “privacy” has a different meaning in our society than it did in previous times. You can put on Privacy settings on Facebook, twitter, or any social media sights, however, nothing is truly personal and without others being able to view your information. You can get to know a person’s personal life simply by typing in their name in google. In the chronicle review, “Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have ‘Nothing to Hide,'" published on May 15th 2011, Professor Daniel J. Solove argues that the issue of privacy affects more than just individuals hiding a wrong. The nothing-to-hide argument pervades discussions about privacy. Solove starts talking about this argument right away in the article and discusses how the nothing-to-hide
In the essay “Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt” the author Julie Zhou demonstrates the negative impact Anonymity in the internet has had on human beings. Following with a convincing argument for unmasking these “trolls” of the internet.
“Human beings are not meant to lose their anonymity and privacy,” Sarah Chalke. When using the web, web users’ information tend to be easily accessible to government officials or hackers. In Nicholas Carr’s “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty,” Jim Harpers’ “Web Users Get As Much As They Give,” and Lori Andrews “Facebook is Using You” the topic of internet tracking stirred up many mixed views; however, some form of compromise can be reached on this issue, laws that enforces companies to inform the public on what personal information is being taken, creating advisements on social media about how web users can be more cautious to what kind of information they give out online, enabling your privacy settings and programs, eliminating weblining,
Modern scholars have in the recent decades engaged in the controversial debate on the actual classification of the group Anonymous. Some scholars classify the group as trolls while other associates it with hackers groups. As defined, hackers are individuals or groups that search and exploit the computer system weakness (Messmer 65). In most instances, hackers engage in discouraging and unappealing activities for multiple reasons including challenging the existing systems, protesting against the prevailing rules and regulations, and for profit making. On the other hand, trolls are groups of individuals who engage in the process of sowing discord on the internet through instigating arguments that aim at upsetting community members and leaders (Keith 11). Trolls are also popular for posting off-topic, extraneous, and inflammatory information on the internet. Although hackers and trolls are the main actors in the current threatening cyber crimes, the two groups have varying reasons for abusing the existing technology. Moreover, despite the existence of detailed and intensive strategies to address the two groups of crime, the actors have been outshining the global policy implementers and formulators in numerous occasions (Messmer 65). However, based on the available evidence, the Anonymous group is more of a hacker group than a troll group.
Catherine, P. (March 2008). The Anonymity Experiment. Writing in the Writing Disciplines, 11(3), 387 – 396
The issue of Internet privacy is not a new topic. Numerous articles displaying the urgency of the issue have been published time and time again. Yet no immediate action seems to have taken place. The issue of privacy over the Net can be in the form of personal privacy, privacy of details, and even physical privacy. The Sunday Mail published a special three-page report on June 4th 2000, outlining a variety of cases where individual’s privacy, had been invaded over the Net through various chat sites. This report was based as a warning to parents, telling of how children, and young teenagers are having their personal privacy invaded by perverted older individuals, who seduce them. Another electronic media article was that of ‘Internet privacy? What privacy!’ by James Norman. This article focused on the problems of Internet privacy, rather than the solutions, however it did come up with various interesting comments. Norman states, ‘Given the number of entities that have access to our personal information through databases and list-swapping, it becomes impossible to know how our lives are being rifled through’. Which is completely true, once you’re information is on the Net, it free for the tak...
In the article: “We Want Privacy, but Can’t Stop Sharing” by Kate Murphy, it is presented that in order for an individual to have privacy in an online environment, one should consider not disclosing sensitive information about one’s true self online. It is mentioned that, indeed, there is no privacy when connecting to the World Wide Web. She shows us that googles ads and nude pics of Jennifer Lawrence being hacked, makes us all vulnerable and a possible target according of “cybersnooping”. She references the film, “Minority Report” to show us that, spying is mismatched with a free society. Murphy, remarks that it is difficult to contend for privacy when society keenly reveals personal information online via social media. But most importantly, when revealing information about one self, there is a notion that one is being watched or tracked via social media implying that one’s health is a affected when releasing sensitive information online causing low
First, internet hate speech causes thousands of children and teenagers to commit suicide each year. Sixty-five percent of children ages eight to fourteen have been involved in a cyberbullying incident. Whether it’s hate speech based off stereotypes of a particular ethnic group,
Technology has given individuals the opportunity to change the game of bullying. Cyber-bullying is one of the most common forms of bullying as of today. The Internet has no boundaries so the public has access to endless and countless number of things. Cyber-bully is the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person (as a student) often done anonymously according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. While traditionally bullying and cyber-bullying are very comparable in forms of technique that also have many differences. Cyber-bullying gives the bully the benefit of hiding their identity behind a screen. This makes it easier to tear people down because they do not have to come in contact with anyone. It’s the easiest form of bullying. These can happen in text messages, chat rooms, email, websites, excluding people from certain online activities, digital photos, and social media. Cyber bullies have unlimited supplies of ways to hurt someone. It is difficult to conduct a study on cyber-bullying because the majority of people will not confess or admit to it. Instead, in the article “Cyber-bullying among adolescents: Measures in search of a construct.” Researchers sit and listen through the grapevine on what is going on inside of schools. They found out that cyber-bullying is more dealt with within adolescents than traditional interaction bullying. (Mehari, K. R., Farrell, A. D., & Le, A. H.) Cyber-bullying can cause more
In a world of Facebook and LinkedIn and YouTube and OKCupid and Google and IPhones and Ipads and Kindles and all the other hundreds of sites and devices designed to garner personal information, data-mine your information, to better advertise, sell, inform, and connect you with the people or the places that you want to experience. The wonderful world of the Internet helps connect millions of people with millions of other people in milliseconds all day, every day. All the swapping and sharing of information create a world of transparency, deception, fraud, and identity confusion. Avatars, aliases, and profiles are the ways most people advertise their goods and services and themselves. With this consideration an erosion of privacy has changed our culture in ways that some predicted years ago and some that are new to our era. This paper will explore some primary regarding how technology causes the changes in privacy and what are the effects brought on by these changes.
Because cyberbullying is a relatively new phenomenon, there is some degree of variance in its definition. In its early inception, cyberbullying was thought to be limited to the internet. However, the rapid creation of new technology tolls has expanded the boundaries to include cell phones, instant messaging, chat rooms, and email (Campfield, 2006). Campfield (2006) conducted a study of middle school students to determine the incidence rates of cyberbullying. She found that nearly 70% of students were involved in cyberbullying in some capacity, as a bully or victim. In a similar study, Li (2007) found that 39% of students have been involved in cyberbullying, while 52% were aware of a peer being harassed through electronic m...
As we are living in the age of technology, we are seeing our youth being victimized by a new phenomenon of bullying, called cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is defined as the use of information and communication technologies such as email, cell phones and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Web sites, and defamatory online personal polling Web sites, to support deliberate repeated and hostile behavior by an individual or group, which is intended to harm others. Cyberbullying can also employ media such as PDAs, blogs, and social networks (Beckstrom, 2008). This form of bullying is progressive because it can happen instantly due to the technology involved, whereas traditional bullying tends to take longer to evolve and happens
messages and images can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a very wide audience. It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the source. Deleting inappropriate or harassing messages, texts, and pictures is extremely difficult after they have been posted or sent” (Dealing with Cyberbullying 1). Cellphones and computers are not to blame for online bullying. Social media sites can be used in a positive way, depending on how...
In Sarah Nichol’s article “Cyber-Bullying and Trolling”, a view is expressed that social media does not cause bullying. According to Karyn Krawford, online anonymity has little to do with making bullies since most victims already know their attacker. In addition, often in real life, bullies and victims play the same role. As director of Cyborg Australia and expert on cyber psychology, Krawford has st...
What is identity? The word itself can have so many connotations, definitions, and subjects tied to it. However, the most basic definition of our identity would be the qualities, beliefs, and baggage that make up each person. An identity is something that each of us have a claim to from the moment we are born to even past our death. Through the recent technology surges however, our most basic claim is now threatened. We have all heard about crime on the streets but with the creation of social networking websites, online shopping, and just interaction websites we are making ourselves vulnerable to a new type of crime: online identity theft. Identity theft is the term for the criminal act of stealing your personal information to clone your identity with the intent to use it without your knowledge or permission to commit fraud or other crimes. This is when thieves typically obtain and exploit personally identifiable information about individuals or various credentials they use to authenticate themselves, in order to impersonate them. In today’s world this is a very serious issue due to all the repercussions it may have such as, the ruination of credit scores, bankruptcy, and many other consequences. Online identity theft is a very serious problem which we are facing in the 21st century and we should begin taking steps to protect our identities such as placing personal information on the internet should be censored and limited.