Anonymity Online; Identity Association, Social Disinhibition, and Incivility

14th August, 2024.

Crimes are increasingly carried out online due to the inept moderation and security of online platforms, the lack of repercussions for cybercriminals, and user anonymity. The internet has acted as the beacon of free speech and an impactful tool in promoting the free exchange of ideas by connecting users across the globe. However, one aspect of the online world is the ability to remain anonymous under the guise of pseudonyms, which significantly contributes to the psychological dissociation of users from the real-world consequences of their expression. User dissociation leads to uncivil and even criminal behavior online, ranging from trolling to more dangerous behavior like online predation, fraud, cyber-harassment, and identity theft.

In the research article “Deliberation and Identity Rules: The Effect of Anonymity, Pseudonyms and Real-Name Requirements on the Cognitive Complexity of Online News Comments,” the authors Alfred Moore et al. use a 2013 study by the University of York Department of Politics to analyze the effects of anonymity online. The study uses data from 45 million comments before and after a policy change by the Huffington Post that required anonymous accounts to connect their real identities in order to create comments. Thorough research concluded that “…anonymity decreases ‘social presence’, which in turn increases polarization of discourse…anonymous environments are associated with uncivil, abusive or ‘anti-normative’ communication” (Moore et al. par. 6). Specifically, linking any uncivil or criminal online actions to the identity of the user is more difficult due to the lack of traceability of anonymous accounts (Moore et al. par. 8). From 2014-2015, data from the study displayed that policy reform was successful in identifying and removing fake accounts and made it significantly more challenging for blocked and reported users to create new accounts (Moore et al. par. 22). Anonymity allows platforms to foster an absolute free speech environment. However, it also allows an entirely unlimited environment that leaves users undeterred to post aggressive, hateful, or explicit comments they would not usually feel inclined to say in person. To deescalate online incivility and criminal behavior, online platforms must enforce policy that decreases online anonymity and strengthens user identity association.

Citations

Moore, Alfred et al. “Deliberation and Identity Rules: The Effect of Anonymity, Pseudonyms and Real-Name Requirements on the Cognitive Complexity of Online News Comments” Political Studies, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 45–65, 2021, WorlCat.org, doi:10.1177/0032321719891385.

Parameswaran, Srikanth et al. “I Like My Anonymity: An Empirical Investigation of the Effect of Multidimensional Review Text and Role Anonymity on Helpfulness of Employer Reviews” Information Systems Frontiers: A Journal of Research and Innovation, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 853–870, 2022, WorldCat.org, doi:10.1007/s10796-022-10268-3.