My Final Thoughts on Anonymity

In the end, this unit of anonymity has brought many things to my attention. For example I learned the two point of views on the topic and how it affects others. From my stand point anonymity was just another part of the internet world. Not really understanding the cons of anonymity, I now see what the victims of anonymity go through and how they feel. Seeing this I understand why they might want to get rid of anonymity all together. Just reading on Zelda Williams story is enough evidence. Although after reading all of these stories and stand points on anonymity, my opinion hasn't shifted completely. I still believe that anonymity is very useful and it shouldn't be terminated completely, although I do believe things should be done with the negative affects that it is causing. Not a complete background check on the person signing up for that specific social media site, but there should be some watching over the trolls. Trolls should only have a certain amount of chances until their accounts are deleted completely.

Peanut Butter the Elephant

So I just watched Nerve this weekend, which is a movie ALL ABOUT being online and anonymous, how perfect right?
It centers around an online dare game called Nerve where participants can either sign up as a Watcher or a Player. Players complete dares for money and watchers determine their dares. The game starts off harmless enough, with dares like kissing a stranger or serenading someone in a restaurant, but as players become more willing, the stakes and money get higher, and the watchers hide deeper behind their screen names. The game shuns those who contact anyone for help or try to get it shut down, and people abuse anonymity resulting in so any awful things that can't be blamed on anyone in particular.

While a game as dangerous as this would definitely be stopped by the government or shut down before blowing to this proportion, the movie definitely hit close to home on the topic of the potentially poison in anonymity.

People hide behind their avatars, letting their online voices speak louder than themselves. That's a fact online, it just is, and while anonymity is used for so many positive things online, the negative speaks louder. It always does that's just a fact.

When nations are bombed and people get arrested, that's the front page everywhere, the first article on every news website, the only thing on television, but nobody hears about the major leaps in clean energy or the baby elephant that was just born that the Safari Park named Peanut Butter. No one hears about the expectant mothers who use anonymity to get advice, but everybody hears about trolls. That's just a fact.

People hide behind their screen names because by doing so, they don't feel the real world effect of their words. Online and anonymous there are no consequences. What you say has no reverberations, they're just words thrown out to the void, and people don't realize that the people on the receiving end are real people with real emotions.

What Does A Troll See?

What does a web troll actually feel or think when they decide to insult or annoy people on the Internet? Although there are no certain explanations, there is enough reason and logic to believe that they do it out of their own self loathing or lack of confidence. Trolls may feel horrible about themselves that they feel the need to bring others down to their levels or even lower. This would be to make them feel a bit higher than others in the world so they don't seem like the saddest person living. Trolls may not be wholeheartedly thinking about their actions when they participate in these barrages of insults and annoyance. On the other hand, maybe, some of these web trolls cause harm because they actually enjoy seeing others depressed and hurt. The reasonings cannot be placed as either the majority or minority because there is no way to tell why someone decided to become a web troll. For this reason, seeing through the eyes of a troll is a very difficult and confusing matter.

Is trolling still relevant

A couple of years ago trolling started to become a popular trend in social media. Every single page had at least 5 trolls trying to cause chaos and make people rage for entertainment. However, this was a couple of years ago. Some of us seniors were either in the 8th grade or barely starting the 9th grade. As we have all matured greatly is trolling still a relevant thing? We all know now to ignore those people who try to cause drama on our social media accounts. If those people continue to "troll" then we do something about it and block the person. Being anonymous is major part of the online world. Without being anonymous a majority of people wouldn't try to go online and have fun by trolling. On the other hand, is trolling still that big of a deal anymore? Trolling mainly happens news websites where articles are being posted of recent news. None of us seniors happen to go on those sites unless we have to visit them quickly for a homework assignment or some sort of project. Trolling has been dying over these past couple of years due to the new features of blocking spam accounts or reporting cyber bullying causing these accounts to be deleted. I believe that trolling isn't an issue anymore because the trend has died down and now people are trying to find a new trend to entertain themselves while being behind a screen and key board.

The Good And The Bad

Being anonymous could either be a good thing or a bad thing. It is by your actions whether you will use it for good or bad. Anonymous posting is not really a horrible thing. It lets you express yourself without a screen name. You can ask questions that you will be too shy to ask your family or friends. For example, a pregnant woman would want to know more stuff about her reproductive system. Weed growers would want to know how much water is needed. People may need to know what type of disease they have without revealing their information.

There are many reasons why being anonymous can be bad.  "It quickly morphed to refer to the monsters who hide in darkness and threaten people...Trolls are turning social media and comment boards into a giant locker room in a teen movie, with towel-snapping racial epithets and misogyny” (TIME). This is a perfect example of what a troll is and what trolls do to society. There are people who actually live to see other people hurt for just retweets and likes.People are getting hurt left and right without them knowing who's throwing the punches.  These actions caused by this type of bloggers can cause serious havoc on social media to the point where people are deleting their facebook, twitter, and Instagram accounts to people committing suicide.

Anonymity in a perfect situation still exists

Lets say that we live in a perfect world where everything is magically great. In this world, anonymity exists. It exists in the most perfect way where people are able to do the same things that they are allowed today like search anything on the internet anonymously. They are allowed to collaborate with others and spread their ideas and opinions anonymously. Although, in this world there is no negativity whatsoever. In this world there are no trolls and there is no depression due to constant bombardment of online negativity. This is a very unrealistic world that I guarantee we will never achieve, but I say this to prove that we will always need to have anonymity in order for our society to thrive and strive to be close to perfection.

                I remember back in the day when the app ask.fm was relevant. The memories haven’t faded much since then, memories of sudden adolescent boldness and cowardice alike. It stands today as the precedent of online anonymity and its effectiveness to me. Of course, it wasn’t very effective, as it was initially advertised as a fun and flirty app, and swiftly shifted into grounds for bullying, drama, and high emotions. The thing is, the victim of abusers on ask.fm had the power to let the abuse show or not by answering the questions, which simultaneously gave them the power to feed bully’s. While I’m totally over the subject of trolling now and its perpetual repetitiveness, I now stir the argument that maybe the victim seeks attention sometimes, because I think I’ve said everything else possible.