To kick off my first foray into blogging, I present to the internet my thoughts on anonymous
Anonymous, the red-headed step child of the internet. What causes this new breed of human beings to thrive in our world? Maybe because they, like bacteria, can survive in the most inhospitable environments and somehow exponentially grow, for example, their parents basement.
The concept of anonymity on the internet was probably spawned to accomodate a whole new wave of shy people that were continuingly gaining more access to the internet. Anonimity on the internet thus creates a vent for these shy types who have no other means to do so.
Since I have dabbled with Mr. Anonymous over the years on various undisclosed websites, I can safely say that these shut-ins have no purpose in life and just want to inflict pain to other people just for the hell of it. Not unlike that of a bully. Creating a persona full of hate to incite sadness or anger on people who just want their voice heard.
However, in a much more public site, youtube houses at least 75% of the world's anonymous. These people rant and tirade, attacking people with insignificant things unrelated to the video in order to somehow defame the poster. I know that youtube requires a screen name before you can start commenting so that its not technically anonymous, but with the ever increasing amount of hateful comments that can sometimes attract a video, their comments get lost in the sand, covered up under a tsunami wave of comments.
Here's one i experienced personally:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_xkKnxmxmQ&feature=channel_page
While I did not get a lot of hate on this video, there was one by internet's LucyGT1, which is now hidden, that told me to die in a fire or something like that.
At first I was like what the hell? it's not like I was talking about supporting nazi germany or how the ku klux klan was so kool, I was just playing my bass. Then i realized after looking at LucyGT1's profile that this person was just a troll whose goal was to cause grief.
On the other hand, there is also another form of anonymous that is not as hateful that exists among teenage girls in Japan, anonymous blogs. These blogs consist of fictional characters that may or may not represent their own lives. The bloggers use a pseudonym to prevent association with their own personal lives for obvious reasons. This form of anonymity is, on the other hand, more contributive to society because these blogs accomodate a whole slew of teenage girls since they deal with romantic or personal drama much like romantic books do. And knowing that someone out there in the world is experiencing drama themselves reassures the teenage girls who read these blogs that they are not alone and that drama will somehow clear out in the end.
I have only heard of this but supposedly if their blog becomes popular enough, publishers can ask the blogger if they can publish their blog in book form. And supposedly these books are on the rise and selling well, topping charts similar to that of the new york times best sellers. Quite cool.
I'd love to delve into anonymous in the olden days, but i lack the incentive to do so.
Maybe I will look into this and insert it later on.
Anyways, what does this all mean?
Maybe anonymity will pan out and be quite productive as in the teenage japanese bloggers in the future. Or maybe it can explode and produce a whole new race of shut-ins who never go outside and just hate on people. Who knows.
The Anonymous identity that has become so prevalent and accessible on the Internet is definitely an interesting, globalized phenomenon. Besides this username, even I blog anonymously and it provides a different kind of experience. To know that the content you write and the opinions you throw out into the Web will not be attributed to you gives me a sense of freedom when I type up my weekly posts. I share my thoughts freely without any worries of being judged by others. Hatred is not always the goal of the Anonymous and I find much of my favorite online content written in anonymity or a pseudo-name.
ReplyDeleteParadoxically, even though one would think the Anonymous Identity separates us from the real world, I find that it probably connects us even more as a online global community. We could be sharing our thoughts to people from the other side of the world without knowing. As Louie wonderfully quotes, "Who knows".
Well, one major flaw in your analysis of the "anonymous" persona is that you assume there is an inherent and parallel connection between the user in real life and the user's presence on the internet. I find in most cases that the two can be and usually are very different from each other. The two personas are almost always in direct contrast.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I would go so far as to say "anonymous" is merely a form of venting for shy nerds who got/get bullied a lot in school. They would go home and hop on the computer and then begin a form of role-play, where they reverse social standing and go from being the quiet and bright kid to becoming the "alpha" bully.
Then once this is done ad nauseum, a few of the more mature and intelligent American anonymous posters begin to realize that adopting the bully persona on the internet is not only mean, but also boring and immature. An epiphany of this sort then leads to a desire for self-improvement. Which would explain the advent of new boards that help shy nerds relate easier to their peers via fashion, health & fitness, and advice.
Of course, my analysis strictly tackles one very focused group of people, but I feel like your post mostly discussed the same group.
Basically what I'm saying is a new race of shut-ins is NOT the outcome.