Anonymity & How it Affects the World

Anonymity is something that has been useful for all of us, whether it was online or in real life. Many people that have used the internet are familiar with anonymity and how useful it is yet at the same time how harmful it can get to be.  I have been familiar with anonymity through sites like ask.fm, where anyone can “ask” someone else questions.  However, I didn’t necessarily last long with my account before the anonymity began to be too much for me. Occasionally, I’d receive messages from anonymous people that made me feel uncomfortable.  I knew my friends were getting similar messages, but i cannot understand how they have been able to bear past it and continue using the site.  Nonetheless, people using ask.fm were able to ask people, usually fellow classmates and pupils, questions that they didn’t have the confidence to ask in person.

The main purpose of anonymity revolves around the concept of uncertainty that restrains people from saying or asking things without having to reveal their true identity. Anonymity is greatly efficient for people to write out what they are pondering, like we are doing now... through blogging!  Blogging is an exceptional way to vent and request advice from others without having to reveal one’s true identity.  There are bloggers all over the globe sharing their views on world issues and issues close to home.  Overtime, some of them may begin to display themselves as critics of government.  At this point, anonymity is often the only feature keeping them from encountering a forced deadly silence.

Some countries have in fact taken action toward this kind of “mock”.  Earlier this year, in March, China announced a new, stricter policy that requires its citizens under law to register to websites utilizing their legitimate names.  Apparently, the Chinese Government were tired of parody accounts that castigated them enough to further deprive its citizens of “freedom of Speech.”  Meanwhile, the US supreme court has repeatedly backed anonymity throughout the internet.  

Some would say these actions taken by the Chinese government were appropriate. While it would certainly help end online harassment (and government criticism), it simultaneously strips online users of their free speech.