What Role Does Anonymity Play At One 's Online Activities, And Why Does This Matter? Essay

The sharing of information may well be the most advanced activity of the twenty-first century occurring across ages and backgrounds with relative ease. Nevertheless, the use of information that is aired through the internet raises several genuine concerns regarding nature, intent, source, and destination as well as the consequences of the content. This is particularly true when the information has to do with people 's identities and other activities that may touch on critical aspects of national security and unauthorized business. As such, there is a mix of reactions among individuals regarding the extent of privacy they would like regarding information that they share or retrieve on the internet. While some may have genuine concerns such as protecting their identity, others are on malicious tracks to cover their person and conduct unwarranted business on the web. The mix of concerns led to the rise of the Dark Web on darknets. A darknet is an overlay network that utilizes the public Internet but requires authorization or special software to access mainly to protect the user’s identity and location from network surveillance and traffic analysis (Sui, Caverlee & Rudesill 2003). Such trends on the internet raise the question; is the Dark Web an important and necessary tool to offset pervasive online surveillance in contemporary society or is the moral panic surrounding the Dark Web in global news media justified? The aim of this research is to answer the raised question

Chapter 13 Suler discusses the different kinds of deviant behavior in the digital world. Advances in technology have resulted in new forms of deviance as well as new forms of control. The internet is the place for deviance because of the lack of proper constraints and restraints on associations. The internet has the ability to form communities that creates and supports behaviors that are no longer a norm.

How would you feel if I told you that I know almost everything there is to know about you – from your occupation to the brand of toothpaste you use, from your IQ to your culinary tastes, and so on – even though you have never met me, and possibly were not even aware of my existence? Most people would immediately state that they would feel violated, stripped of their individuality. Yet millions of people browse the Net day after day, blissfully ignorant of the fact that that they are always being monitored by someone to some degree. By selling you items and/or services, Amazon.com knows your reading preferences; your favorite online grocery store knows what kind of toothpaste you prefer; your university knows

Digital immigrants and digital natives obviously have two different backgrounds and hence two different perspectives on the meaning of digital privacy. Often digital immigrants accuse online social users of being ignorant and not aware of the technology’s risks or having lack of judgement in matter of privacy. Digital immigrants, more than digital natives, see the online social networks as an opportunity for personal disgrace (socially and professionally) through sexual predation, pornography, cyber-bullying, disclosure of personal stories, images and information online (Abril, 2007). On the contrary, digital natives see the online social networks as they were their personal space. They share thoughts, ideas, political views and feelings out in the open without realising it. The perception of privacy is very underestimated; they do not comprehend that their personal information can be reached by anyone by the use of appropriate means. In addition they are the ones to cry out when their privacy has been breached (Abril, 2007). They wonder why they did not get that important job although their interview went great, unaware that the potential employer might have checked their profile and pictures in Facebook, where partying heavily and not caring to express offensive comments might have shown complete different

One of the major reactions to the Boston marathon bombing occurred on the internet. Social media was especially rife with speculation over who the bombers were and why they committed those acts. One of the greater spectres that has loomed over the social media landscape in the past few years is the group called “Anonymous.” While the social media reaction to the Boston bombings might be unrelated to “Anonymous,” and instead constitute a spontaneous reaction to the event, it might still be useful to look at this group of internet users as a model for how social media participants might behave. “Anonymous” is known for being a loose association of unidentified individuals who use internet technology to carry out hacks on the web in the name

It is important to highlight and explain how we intend deal with crucial issues of the anonymity and protection of our respondents. We aim to use the examples of best practices by ensuring confidentiality and protection. With regard to the anonymity, we intend to encrypt indefinable data (name, address, Email address, telephone no. etc.), using pseudonyms and acronyms, which cannot be directly or indirectly traced back to them. We also intend to put security codes for digital records or by limiting access to these data. Furthermore, we intend to ensure the confidentiality by ensuring whatever their responses (verbally or written) will be kept safe and will not be used against them or their

One cannot assume an absolute division between the virtual and physical worlds. With the development of Web 2.0, an increasing entanglement of both spheres has taken place. Most people take virtual worlds dead serious. Nobody wants to be harmed in his or her virtual identity, i.e. to be "net-smutted" and "net-shitted" on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. Yet, people love it to be "net flirted" or "net loved". As yet, there is an essential human conflict how to deal with cyberspace and its effects on human behavior. Virtual phenomena thus are still being interpreted nearly as an illusion, or something that is true, but not totally true. The virtual world and its effects are like a phantom to the human mind. Propaganda in the Web is "nothing but a virtual call," can often be heard in the news. Yet, authoritarian states are shutting down Net services to avoid calls for demonstrations that might endanger their existence (for example in Egypt and China). Participants in Net-agitation are being punished with long prison terms by repressive states. Therefore, they create solidarity and hierarchy among speakers. Only participants who share linguistic, differentiated or restrictive codes belong to a certain in-group. Others may be discriminated and separated. Restrictive codes strengthen in-group cohesion, which leads to heightened out-group aggression.' Specially "restrictive codes," which are only understood by in-group

While Twitter and Facebook based mobilization will occasionally lead to real social and political change, much initial digital reaction comes from the human instinct to impress (Morozov, 2011). Many citizens partook in this social cause not because they truly believed in the need for social change and the creation of political discourse but they participated because they felt that if others saw them supporting, it would enhance online persona and connect them to an online community. The idea of enabling a moral personality that assists with representing one’s idealized self-image. However, when applied to cyberspace, created is the “the cyber super-ego” a concept which represents “ the collapse of the binary distinction of an illusory cyberspace, and its colonisation of reality” (Dick

One would think that what happens online has little to no impact on the physical world and people’s daily lives. On the other hand, people you don’t know can’t harm you as well over the Internet, right? These questions are answered in, Expect Us where I talk about and elaborate upon the well-known online hacktivist collective, Anonymous. I wanted to have this paper really show the reader the impact that they have on the real world and what they stand for through various forms of imagery and explanation with all of the corruption going on right now, I thought this would be a good thing to talk about. I chose to show you the collective through the eyes of a current member who’s had an idea of what they do ever since he was a child. I find this important as the story goes on as the reader will see how even as he evolves from a child to adulthood, the idea sticks with him the entire

Innis favours the internet’s orality due to the fact that individuals with very similar interests are now presented with the opportunity to create and express their beliefs, and establish new relationships and networks that disseminate the electronic mass media and its one- directedness. (Innis, 2008). The use of these social media sites such as Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter have further led to the re- injection of their personal experiences, feelings, their individual worldviews, and their creative thoughts (Innis, 2008) into what was formally ‘mechanized’. Though the internet promotes personal relationships, it has provided an avenue for people to assume false identities on social networks such as

Furthermore, Boyd claims that people have a right to do what protects their well-being and says: “What’s at stake is people’s right to protect themselves, their right to actually maintain a form of control that gives them safety” According to Boyd, nobody has the right or authority to stop people from doing what protects them the most. Any action to stop people from protecting themselves is wrong and that’s exactly what the ban of anonymity calls for. Boyd holds the same idea as Stafford and Zhou that people need to be protected from these “trolls” on the internet but unlike the other authors, Boyd sees anonymity as the defensive measures that people take to protect themselves. Without anonymous accounts and names people at risk such as stalking victims, rape victims, defectors from suppressive governments, and company whistleblowers are left defenseless to people who have access to the internet and their identities and the intention to harm them. It is unreasonable to take a risk to implement something, not knowing if it will have any positive effect, but knowing it will definitely negatively effect many users of the internet. Boyd’s article explains that anonymity allows for all ideas to be fully expressed without being afraid of backlash from individuals that aim to harm you. This lack of

As online abuse cases are becoming more common, Facebook and Twitter are having to change their policies on a regular basis in order to protect their users and the community. Both Facebook and Twitter forbid their their users from using unidentified names, in the case where they would need to contact them on their abuse on their platforms. Lisa Nakamura’s article, Glitch Racism: Networks as Actors within Vernacular Internet Theory, explains how users are taking advantage of the platform community rules and are making anonymous accounts to spread online abuse (Nakamura,

Online communities are no different from communities that you may find elsewhere, but in some cases identities of the users are not revealed. Communities where this is the case it is impossible for individuals to form a meaningful relationship with trust. However, the communities where individuals are not anonymous it is possible for trust to be built between these individuals. This paper is meant to take a Kantian approach with respect to “The Metaphysics of Morals” to identify whether trust within online communities, specifically those that use anonymity such as 4Chan and Reddit, is possible; as well as look at communities where anonymity is not present and how users are able to develop trust, such as Facebook. Through this paper, I will be using Bjorn Myskja’s “The Categorical Imperative and the Ethics of Trust” to look at how anonymity shapes trust in communities. Once I have a developed a firm conclusion on how Kant and Myskja believe trust can be gained, I will analyze the community that does this by not utilizing anonymity, Facebook and Myspace, by observing “Trust and Privacy Concern Within Social Networking Sites: A Comparison of Facebook and MySpace” from the AIS Electronic Library. Once the conclusion has been made as to how an online community develops trust I will look at the Community of 4Chan. This will serve as a starting point for analyzing the communities that utilize anonymity. “4chan and /b/: An

The Darknet, Inside the Digital Underworld, written by Jamie Bartlett, and published by Melville House, illustrates how internet subculture O caused some groups to question privacy and anonymity on the internet. Should a person be limited on how they express themselves on the internet? There exists a hidden part of the internet where people browse anonymously and without censorship. The Darknet is a placed referred to on the internet where people from various subcultures go to take part in mostly illegal activities without getting caught.

For such a long time, physical bullying has been the largest problem schools and parents had to face with their children, but now another form of bullying has arisen; cyber bullying. In society today, teens are drawn cell phones, laptops, and other technological advancements. Social media is a way for many teens and adolescents to interact with one another and share countless happenings of their personal lives. Cyber bullying occurs when individuals use the internet to send or comment cruel and unnecessary messages to another. In its various forms cyber bullying includes, indirect and direct harassment, posting inappropriate pictures, impersonating another being, or just being plain cruel. Although anyone can become a victim of cyber bullying, improper use of the internet can further induce harassment, due to the adolescents desire to use modern day technologies. The harassers could be classmates, online “friends’’, or anonymous users. One barrier that is difficult to overcome is determining who is responsible for the attacks online, because many bullies hide behind fake usernames or profiles to protect their real identity, which is commonly known as “hiding behind a screen”. (Bonanno 2013). The motives for a cyber-bully are never clear, some might say