# How Does Anonymity Act as an Identity for Individuals and Groups Online?
## Introduction

As society progresses into the modern digital age it is becoming more and more essential to have an online identity alongside a real life one. For many these identities are representative of their best self, only sharing what they deem appropriate to a closed group; others over-share on personal accounts, occasionally alienating family and friends. There is third category containing a mixture of the two, often hidden behind pseudonym’s but sharing quite publically. Anonymous accounts or online users that choose to hide their personalities either through choice or necessity on the platform. These users can be found on social media (description of the effect of anonymity); on dating apps (summary needed); in online videogames, which allows individuals and groups to create new identities that can be used to explore online virtual worlds and provides an excellent opportunity for individuals to escape from their offline personality; and on anonymous discussion boards, where a mixture of mob mentality and disconnection from self, allow users to create unseen identities and communities that are uncontrollable yet open. This essay aims to address why people choose to remain anonymous online and how they can create communities and identities without resorting to conventional identification methods.

## Main Concepts
### Social Media

When it comes to social media, people tend to identify themselves anonymously depending on what site they are using. However, a great number of people share anything and everything about their personal life or the life they are portraying. The newest part of social media is sharing your location so your “friends” and “followers” know where you are in your daily life. Being able to check-in and share images has created significance and social signals to a specific audience for several reasons which have affected user’s presentation of themselves based on their activity. A big part of the reason why anonymity is rare because many platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have given people access to a diversity of multimedia tools that allow the chance for more control and more imaginative performances of their online identity. There are now decisions about disclosing a user’s location especially since it is being promoted by certain social media sites to meet up with other users even though some users use it to advertise where they are located when it is not possible to have a face-to-face meeting. According to studies by Schwartz & Halegoua (2015), sharing a user’s location is more used for bragging or showing off, making inside jokes, self-promotion, receiving rewards or points for actions, and imitating bonding with friends.
However, there is a small population of people who decide to stay anonymous and not always for a good reason. It is argued that when someone is anonymous on social media, it can lead to disruptive behaviors such as antagonistic harassment and messages as well as impulsive, trolling, and wretched remarks and people who used their real name were less likely to be offensive. Furthermore, being anonymous has always been used in a positive way by people saying things that they would not feel comfortable doing if there was no anonymity and it comes to the point where people feel they can be their “true self’ as well as being able to discuss experiences and information they would not share in other situations. Studies have also shown that when social networks allow users to interact anonymously with a known audience, they demonstrated to being more comfortable revealing information about their social ties than to people who are nearby therefore platforms who offer more flexible form are more popular when it comes to expressing one’s identity among friends. Being anonymous is a controversial topic and we are currently in the middle of anonymity and being known on social media especially since many different sites are heading in opposite directions. For example, Facebook requires people to use their real name when making an account and Twitter does not require their users to use their real name but a pseudonym. A study found that on Twitter only six percent of analyzed account of fifty-thousand were anonymous because they did not disclose first and the last name, twenty percent were partially anonymous since they provided first and last name, six percent was unclassifiable, and the remaining sixty-eight percent was identifiable. This data delegates online anonymity is important to that a quarter of Twitter users and because of the absence of a real-name policy it has become a strong selling point for social networks even though some accounts that are identifiable could have used a fake name and were actually anonymous therefore a greater number of people appreciate anonymity. There is a thin line between anonymity and the known and it is up to us to decide on where we draw the line. Crs00039 (discuss • contribs)

### Videogames

With an estimated number of 2.2 billion gamers (Newzoo.com, 2017) currently immersed in the gaming community, a discussion about their online identity has never been so justified. When a player downloads or purchases a new online videogame, when it starts the player is often required to create a basic profile such as creating a username or avatar (character) for in-game recognition. The username and avatar becomes the players identity when playing the game, Blascovich and Bailenson describe the use of an avatar as being an embodiment of a human in digital space that carries out that human’s actions For most games online, the username is only restricted by the players imagination, unlike social media players do not need to provide their true names, creating an opportunity for the player to play as an anonymous individual. However most game developers do have strict regulations against using offensive or hate speech riddled usernames, often resulting in a permanent ban for that player, but players do mostly have the freedom to create a unique pseudonym for themselves. When a player decides on a username, a new identity has been created, opening up worlds to explore and allows the individual the freedom to escape from their offline personality. Like social media, the same problems such as negative comments and vulgar speech arises with anonymity in the gaming community. Are these negative symptoms just gamers venting from frustrating gameplay or does anonymity allow players to act out and hide behind the mask that covers their true identity without any real consequences. This section will discuss how anonymous identities are affecting the gaming world.
Creating an anonymous identity for a game allows the players to immerse themselves into the virtual world. It’s like roleplaying games, created identities are used to project fantasies into the real world but for videogames, the fantasies are projected by the identities into a digital world, for many users having an anonymous identity adds to the experience of gaming. The use of avatars in the virtual world to represent the player began as a visual marker with limited movement attributes and interaction but with advancement of 3D computer technology, avatars have become more human like in form and interaction capabilities. Players in the digital age can now customize their avatars from appearance to personality traits with realistic outcomes. In virtual games like Second Life and World of Warcraft, players have successfully created online identities that help build bustling virtual communities and participate in social activities using their self-representative avatars. If a player decides to use an anonymous username, they can become whoever they want to be in terms of appearance through their avatar, they have the freedom to choose without any judgement. On some occasions, user’s will become attached to these avatars as they represent a second version of themselves but within the digital world, Dibbell states this attachment occurs because the avatars represent our psych id double, the body like self-representation that we carry around in our heads , meaning players will create a perfect image of themselves and project this idea onto their avatars. Being anonymous players allows for greater freedom of creativity for individuals but it does open a wormhole of a darker side of the online gaming community.
The gaming community has a reputation for being a brutal place, filled with aggressive teens screaming at each other through headsets and thousands more screaming back. How much of this bad reputation is because of the option of being anonymous within games? Various studies have shown that with anonymity, people tend to be more cruel to each other because they are under the assumption that consequences from their actions will never occur to them (see Zimbardo’s, 1969 & Diener’s 1976 study). Using pseudonyms as usernames, some gamers act differently from their offline identity because they feel safe, hidden by an alias, and can generate aggressive behaviour towards other gamers. Some players do this on purpose (Trolling) for their own satisfaction but others find themselves venting because of frustrating gameplay. Many online videogames today include player versus player competitive options, which will encourage and often leads to “trash-talking”. Having anonymous users might encourage more trash talk but these small jibes are often present in competitive games outside of the gaming world too. Anonymity in videogames allows for player freedom and creativity but it is almost foreshadowed by players who deliberately harass other players which inevitably affects the gaming experience.

### Anarchic Anonymity

Anonymity is social interaction without the burden of snooping peers (Christopherson, K M; 2006; p,3039) and in its purest form has become increasingly rare online. Websites often require members to create screen names before posting, sometimes offering quick sign up through Facebook or Gmail accounts. This identification is in place to encourage a community spirit and keep the anti-normative and anti-social behaviour often commonly associated with anonymous userbases at bay. (Millen, D R; Patterson, J F; 2003, p.720)
4chan and the now defunct app ‘Yik Yak’ are two examples of websites that have managed to develop a sense of community and identity for users despite the fact that posts are not marked by usernames. 4chan is an image-based bulletin board based upon Japanese websites such as 2channel. The site is split into 70 different topic boards ranging from Safe For Work’ topics such as ‘Anime’ (/a/) to ‘Not Safe For Work’ topics such as the infamous ‘Random’ board (/b/). 4chan does offer the option to assign usernames to posts but a study found that only 4% of users utilise this feature seriously. (Bernstein et al; 2011; p.6). Yik Yak is an app that allows users to post depending on their proximity. It is designed for college and university students as somewhere that they can post and vent anonymously about their experiences within the campus. Although proximity could be viewed as an identifying factor, a user’s location is never made public. Both sites also utilise ephemerality, creating a fast-paced posting environment.
The creator of 4chan Christopher Poole, known to the community as ‘Moot’, wrote an article for the New York Times claiming 4chan was somewhere that users could post without the “burdens of social media, and the resulting narcissistic baggage.” (Poole, 2013). This can be seen all throughout 4chan, as well as Yik Yak, in the form of the online disinhibition effect. (Suler, J; 2005; p 185) Both 4chan and Yik Yak studies (Schlesinger et al; 2017) found that users could communicate with ease when not worrying about social ostracization. This paired with the ephemeral nature of the sites meant that users “did not need to be consistent in what they posted.” (Schlesinger; 2017, p 6916) On 4chan in particular, since everyone is labelled as ‘Anonymous’, users feel they can act up without their actions coming back to them. (Bernstein et al; 2001 p 6)
Despite the raucous nature of the sites there is a definite community spirit running through them. Anonymity allows intimate and open discussion, (Bernstein et al; 2011; p.6; Schlesinger et al; 2017; p, 6917; Kang et al; 2013; 2660) by finding human connection and offering to help one another, the users of these sites show a positive side to anonymous posting not often talked about. A topic means users can develop a sense of identity and community within their chosen site, for instance, Yik Yak users tended to make self-deprecating jokes about the struggles of college life. (Schlesinger et al; 2017; p 6917) Humour as a way of developing a sense of community can also been shown on 4chan. The ephemerality of posts means that users will often save or funny posts in order to bring them back days later. (Bernstein et all; 2001; p. 5) Users aim to create discussion with others who saw the original post while developing a set of in-jokes to reference with each other at later dates. Many of these in-jokes have snowballed into wider internet memes and are one of the reasons for 4chan’s internet fame.(Bartlett; 2013) It was also found that users 4chan would choose to reference older jokes or memes in order to establish their validity as part of the group. Bernstein et al (2011, p 7) reference the ‘triforcing’ challenge, where seasoned users challenge those they perceive as innocent posters to create a Unicode triforce. This is a rather brutal, and arguably narcissistic, way of posting but it continues to add to the impression of identity and community on the site.

## References

Ellison, N., Blackwell, L., Lampe, C., & Trieu, P. (2016). “The Question Exists, but You Don’t Exist With It”: Strategic Anonymity in the Social Lives of Adolescents. Social Media Society, 2(4), Social Media Society, 2016, Vol.2(4). Crs00039 (discuss • contribs)
Peddinti, S., Ross, K., & Cappos, J. (2017). User Anonymity on Twitter. Security & Privacy, IEEE, 15(3), 84-87. Crs00039 (discuss • contribs)
Schwartz, R., & Halegoua, G. (2015). The spatial self: Location-based identity performance on social media. New Media & Society, 17(10), 1643-1660. Crs00039 (discuss • contribs)

## Visitor comments

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## References

* ↑ Schwartz & Halegoua, 2015
* ↑ Schwartz & Halegoua, 2015
* ↑ Schwartz & Halegoua, 2015
* ↑ Ellison, Blackwell, Lampe & Trieu, 2016
* ↑ Ellison, Blackwell, Lampe & Trieu, 2016
* ↑ Ellison, Blackwell, Lampe & Trieu, 2016
* ↑ Peddinti, Ross, & Cappos, 2017
* ↑ Peddinti, Ross, & Cappos, 2017
* ↑ Blascovich, J., & Bailenson, J.N. (2011). Infinite reality: Avatars, eternal life, new worlds, and the dawn of the virtual revolution. Nature, (7342), 165. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.stir.ac.uk/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.254484686&site=eds-live .
* ↑ Taylor, T. L. 2002. “Living Digitally: Embodiment in Virtual Worlds.” Pp. 40–62 in The Social Life of Avatars, edited by R. Schroeder. London: Springer
* ↑ Ahn, S.J., Fox, J., & Bailenson, J.N. (2012). Avatars. In Bainbridge, W. S. (Ed.), Leadership in Science and Technology: A Reference Handbook. SAGE Publications.
* ↑ Dibbell, J. 1993. A Rape in Cyberspace or How an Evil Clown, a Haitian Trickster Spirit, Two Wizards, and a Cast of Dozens Turned a Database into a Society. Electronic document available from julian@panix.com.
* ↑ Zimbardo, P. G. (1969), The human choice - Individuation, reason, and order vs. deindividuation, impulse and chaos. In: W. J. Arnold & D. Levine (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 17, pp. 237-307), Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press
* ↑ Diener, E., Fraser, S.C., Beaman, A. L. & Kelem, R. T. (1976), Effects of deindividuating variables on stealing by Halloween trick-or-treaters. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 33:178- 183
* ↑ Christopherson, K. M. (2007). The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet social interactions: "On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog." Computers in Human Behavior, 23(6), 3038-3056. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2006.09.001.
* ↑ Millen, D. R., & Patterson, J. F. (2003, April). Identity disclosure and the creation of social capital. In CHI'03 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems (pp. 720-721). ACM.
* ↑ By Frank Schwichtenberg (Own work) [CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
* 1 2 3 4 5 Bernstein, M. S., Monroy-Hernández, A., Harry, D., André, P., Panovich, K., & Vargas, G. G. (2011, July). 4chan and/b: An Analysis of Anonymity and Ephemerality in a Large Online Community. In ICWSM (pp. 50-57).
* ↑ Poole, C. (2013). Don't hate the player, hate the game. The New York Times.
* ↑ Suler, J. (2005). The online disinhibition effect. International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 2(2), 184-188.
* 1 2 3 4 Schlesinger, A., Chandrasekharan, E., Masden, C. A., Bruckman, A. S., Edwards, W. K., & Grinter, R. E. (2017, May). Situated anonymity: Impacts of anonymity, ephemerality, and hyper-locality on social media. In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 6912-6924). ACM.
* ↑ Kang, R., Brown, S., & Kiesler, S. (2013, April). Why do people seek anonymity on the internet?: informing policy and design. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 2657-2666). ACM.
* ↑ Bartlett, J. (2013). 4chan: The role of anonymity in the meme-generating cesspool of the web. Wired