Anonymity on the internet
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 by Sion
Anonymity has always been important real-world societal issue on the internet. This issue is becoming increasingly important as more people discover the digital world and find the need for anonymity in this new media society. Most commentary on the internet is essentially done anonymously, using unidentifiable pseudonyms.
What are the pros and cons of anonymity on the internet?
There are many reasons to hide your real identity when you use the internet. Internet users might want to protect themselves against oppressive government, or post personal messages without revealing their true identity to the whole world. It provides freedom of expression which must be allowed.
Anonymity servers on the internet provide a vital service with many benefits to the online community. If anonymity service is a truly negative thing for the internet, it will eventually die out by itself from lack of use. Anonymity allows people may get objective evaluation of their messages by not showing their real name. Besides, people are more equal in anonymous discussion about factors like status, gender and so on.
On the contrary, anonymity can be used to seek contacts for performing illegal acts. Even when the act is not illegal, anonymity can be used for offensive or disruptive communication. For example, some people use anonymity in order to say nasty things about other people. Spam, or unsolicited email, is a common abuse of internet anonymity.
What are the pros and cons of anonymity on the internet?
There are many reasons to hide your real identity when you use the internet. Internet users might want to protect themselves against oppressive government, or post personal messages without revealing their true identity to the whole world. It provides freedom of expression which must be allowed.
Anonymity servers on the internet provide a vital service with many benefits to the online community. If anonymity service is a truly negative thing for the internet, it will eventually die out by itself from lack of use. Anonymity allows people may get objective evaluation of their messages by not showing their real name. Besides, people are more equal in anonymous discussion about factors like status, gender and so on.
On the contrary, anonymity can be used to seek contacts for performing illegal acts. Even when the act is not illegal, anonymity can be used for offensive or disruptive communication. For example, some people use anonymity in order to say nasty things about other people. Spam, or unsolicited email, is a common abuse of internet anonymity.