Positive Anonymity

In class, we've only focused on the negative side of anonymity, but it has positive effects. It allows victims of abuse or harassment to speak out about their experience without fear. Since their location and real names are not revealed in an anonymous setting their attacker would not be able to find the victims, keeping them safe. Because, people are free to say what they want to, anonymity is seen negatively, but it has positive, beneficial factors. It gives the people who are shy or afraid that their peers will judge them an outlet to share their opinions and ideas. For example, I have had teachers who have had anonymous question boxes in their classroom that allow students to freely ask questions. I find this helpful because I do not like being the center of attention. Anonymous Facebook pages allow being to start organizations like interest groups without it being linked to a specific person. This helps to prevent bias because people may chose to support or refute the group based on the appearance or personal traits of the person running the group. Anonymity has the ability to serve a positive purpose despite its negative connotation.