Anonymous post: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:08, 14 April 2012

Revision as of 22:42, 26 May 2012

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Anonymity is well-known to cause users to misbehave. Users lose their inhibition when they and others are anonymous. There are several factors contributing to this [[disinhibition]] effect, including<ref name=Suler>{{cite journal|last=Suler|first=John|title=The online disinhibition effect.|journal=CyberPsychology & Behavior|year=2004|volume=7|issue=3|accessdate=14 March 2012}}</ref>:

* '''Dissociative anonymity''': Since what a user does online won't be directly linked to the rest of their lives, herthe user's online self becomes compartmentalized, and shethe user may feel free to act differently.

* '''Invisibility''': The users may find it easier to act out when he cannot physically see or hear the people he is interacting with.

* '''Asynchronicity''': Users may find it easier to post something personal or difficult to say when they don't have to face the consequences of their posting immediately - they can leave it there, and do not have to return to it.

* '''Solipsistic [[introjection]]''': When interacting with others online, a user might experience the other people "as a voice within [histhe user's] head" <ref name=Suler />. The others seem to become a part of histhe user's internal world. The user feels as though he is talking to himself, which makes him feel safe to unleash thoughts and feelings that he normally considers private.

* '''Dissociative imagination''': The online world in which the user interacts seems compartmentalized, like a "make-believe dimension, separate and apart from the demands and responsibilities of the real world" <ref name=Suler />. As a result, she does not follow the rules of behavior she normally does.

* '''Minimization of authority''': Online, the trappings of authority are invisible, and the limitations of appearances do not affect a user's interactions with others. It is easier for users to act as equals when, as in an online setting, they seem to be equals.