{"id":140,"date":"2019-05-05T15:37:09","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T07:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/?p=140"},"modified":"2019-05-05T15:37:09","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T07:37:09","slug":"the-importance-of-anonymity-and-pseudonymity-in-youths-exploration-of-identity-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/2019\/05\/05\/the-importance-of-anonymity-and-pseudonymity-in-youths-exploration-of-identity-online\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of anonymity and pseudonymity in youths\u2019 exploration of identity online"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Rachel Tiongco,\nCurtin University <\/h6>\n\n\n\n
The importance of anonymity and pseudonymity in youths\u2019 exploration of identity online<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This conference paper investigates the importance of anonymity in social networking sites. It first tackles the problematic statement by Zuckerberg that to have more than one identity online is to lack integrity by using Goffman\u2019s (1959) impression management to unpack the statement. It will then analyse the ways in which anonymity and pseudonymity are used by youths to explore their identity through the social practice of \u2018Rinsta\u2019 and \u2018Finsta\u2019. Conclusively, it argues that although there are problems to anonymity and pseudonymity online, promoting an \u2018authentic\u2019 self and real name among users is not the proper solution to fixing these issues. Anonymity is an integral feature of the Internet that enables young users to explore their identity amid the context collapse of social network sites (SNS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Youths, social networking sites, anonymity, pseudonymity, Fake Instagram, performative identities, context collapse, mirror networks, impression management <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In discussing\nthe debate about the anonymity v. real name movement on the Internet, Van der Nagel\nand Frith (2015) argues the importance of anonymity on the Internet as it adds\ntexture to being social on the Internet. The \u2018real name\u2019 movement, Van der\nNagel and Frith (2015) discuss is the promotion of using real names of social\nnetworking sites (SNS) to prevent anonymous trolling and flaming as it forces\nusers to connect their offline identity to their online one. One of the main arguments\nagainst pseudonymity and anonymity on social network sites is it protects\nonline trolls and attracts anti-social behaviour (Zhuo, cited in Van der Nagel\nand Frith, 2015). Furthermore, Mark Zuckerberg, in defence of the real name\nmovement, denies that an individual can possess more than one form of identity\nsuggesting that to possess more than one lacks integrity (Lovink, cited in Van\nder Nagel and Frith, 2015). This conference paper will analyse the importance\nof anonymity in social networking site by first unpacking the problematic\nstatement by Zuckerberg and then analysing the ways in which anonymity and\npseudonymity is used by youths to explore their identity. It will conclusively\nargue that although there are problems to anonymity and pseudonymity, promoting\nreal names is not the proper solution in fixing the issue as anonymity is\nintegral to the exploration and navigation of identity in the context collapse\nof computer mediated space.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performative identities <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Goffman (1959)\nis most notable for his work on impression management. Goffman (1959) uses the\nconcept of front stage and backstage as an analogy for how identity is\nperformed as if for an audience and how an individual prepares for this\nperformance backstage (p. 2). In his work, Goffman (1959) discuss how the self\nis performing a character on stage generated by the social setting or\nenvironment of their surroundings and the people around them (p. 9). This performance\nhas grown more so with SNS as it provides users areas that are \u201c\u2026disembodied,\nmediated and controllable, and through which alternate performances can be\ndisplayed to others\u201d (boyd, cited in Pearson, 2009). Pearson (2009) uses social\nties to understand why users use SNS as a performance stage for their identity.\nShe notes how in cases with weak ties \u2013 ties which are weaker in terms of\nemotional intensity, intimacy and reciprocity, a user can play more with their\nidentity. They can choose which tropes of performances they want to incorporate\nin their profile or private chats (Pearson, 2009). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most notable\nexample of this performance is through the case of youths using SNS to explore\ntheir identity. In the days of MySpace, youths were notorious for creating and\nwriting their profile in a way that made them \u2018cool\u2019 to their peers and friends\n(boyd, 2007, p. 13). As ties among peers and online friends (whom they have\nnever met offline) are often weak, youths are more playful with their\npresentation of identity. boyd (2007) discuss that teens were likely to present\na side of themselves which would be well-received by their peers. This type of\nconstructing identity is also present in today\u2019s popular SNS such as Facebook.\nIn a study by Carmody (2012), she found that youths do not necessarily use SNS\nto explore their alternative selves by creating a profile with a different identity,\nbut they do omit certain parts of their identity when they are online (pp. 43 \u2013\n44). This is an important discussion when unpacking Zuckerberg\u2019s comment\n(Lovink, cited in Van der Nagel and Frith, 2015) about how an individual should\nonly have one identity. It is an excellent example of how an individual online\nis never presenting their \u2018real\u2019 identity and how there is always an element of\nperformance or omission to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, one\ncan also look at how identity is performed offline to understand why the idea\nof authentic self is not possible online. To begin with, Goffman\u2019s (1959) impression\nmanagement is based on situations before social networks and he used social\nsituations such as business meetings to discuss how a team may put up front or an\nact based on their knowledge of their opposition (p. 5). As Goffer (as cited in\nVan der Nagel and Frith, 2015) notes, there is a territorial boundary in the\npresentation of self in offline situation; a woman out with her friends has\nthem as the audiences and would therefore present herself in a way that allows\nher to connect with the audiences. In the same manner, in a social setting with\nher family, she would present a different self; one which connects to her\nfamily alone (Van der Nagel and Frith, 2015). Therefore, our identity is always\na performance, even with those whom we have strong ties with, and our authentic\nself is never as fixed as the real name movement would imply it to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important\nto note the \u2018context collapse\u2019 which occurs in SNS. So far, this paper has\nanalysed how different version of one\u2019s identity is performed online and\noffline, depending on their audience. However, with SNS there is a \u2018context\ncollapse\u2019 (Marwick and boyd, as cited in Van der Nagel and Frith, 2015) taking\nplace where an individual\u2019s social network is not segmented like it is offline \u2013\nthey are all intertwined in the same social network platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding escape from the context collapse of SNS through\npseudonymity and anonymity  <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

 Context collapse in SNS intertwines and\nconnects one\u2019s social network rather than segment it (Van der Nagel and Frith,\n2015). The problem with this is, in terms of performing an identity, an\nindividual is no longer performing with one type of audience but rather their\nwhole social network including friends, families, co-workers and acquaintances.\nThat is why many teenagers were against the idea of their parents being on\nMySpace and monitoring their profiles (boyd, 2007, p. 16). As boyd (2007) note,\nteenagers go online to find and seek validation among their peers or online\nconnections (p. 15) and to do so, they would need to conform to peer-pressure\nand follow the latest \u2018cool\u2019 trends (p. 17). However, as adults rarely connect\nwith the latest trend among youths, boyd (2007) discuss that young teens are\nthen are forced to choose between doing what is \u2018cool\u2019 for their peers or \u2018lame\u2019\nfor their parents (p. 17). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example of\nhow teens navigate exploring and expressing their identity with a pseudonym is through\nwhat boyd (2007) terms, \u2018mirrored network\u2019. boyd (2007) uses the term \u2018mirrored\nnetwork\u2019 to explain how teenagers create new profile which expresses the\nidentity they want to present to their peers and friends, while keeping a\nG-rated profile for their parents (p. 16). As Christopherson (2006) points out,\nanonymity can be used to retain their autonomy for the sake of gaining privacy\nin a very public space (p. 3040). The same case is done regarding the practice\nof Rinsta (real Instagram) and Finsta (fake Instagram) today. Having gained\npopularity over the years, \u2018Finsta\u2019 is a social practice done among Instagram\nusers where they create a second, secret Instagram account so they do not need\nto conform to the self-presentation beauty standards of Instagram (Kang and\nWei, 2018, p. 1). Kang and Wei (2018) elaborates that the difference between Rinsta\nand Finsta is; Rinsta is for friends, families and close acquaintances to show an\nindividual is living a happy life (p. 1). Whereas on Finsta, users do not need to\npresent a homogenous presentation of their identity as they do on their Rinsta.\nThey use a secret account for their closest friends so they can express the\nother unattractive, humiliating or embarrassing side of themselves (p. 2).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To navigate\nthrough the context collapse of Instagram, Instagram users are creating a\nmirror network to present themselves in a way that is meant for their closest\nfriends. McGregor and Li (2019) found that teens often use Finsta to connect\nwith their peers in a controlled space and freely express themselves (p. S39). However,\nKang and Wei (2018) found that users\u2019 rate Rinsta higher for self-expression\nthan Finsta (p. 7). Kang and Wei (2018) theorise this could be due to the\nexpectation that a Finsta is a designated space to be silly (p. 7) and there is\nthe pressure to be funnier than they are (Duffy, as cited in Kang and Wei,\n2018, p. 7). Therefore, although mirror network is used to present an\nindividual\u2019s \u2018true\u2019 identity to their closest friends, there is still the\npeer-pressure to exaggerate one side of themselves to appeal to their friends. Further\nshowcasing Goffman\u2019s (1959) impression management and how our \u2018authentic self\u2019\nis subjective according to the social context we are placed in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Van\nder Nagel and Frith (2015) uses the subreddit, r\/gonewild to argue the\nimportance of anonymity of women posting their nude selfies online as it\nprotects them from potential harassment. They discuss how with anonymity, women\nare given the opportunity on the subreddit to explore and share their sexual\nidentity with strangers online without worrying about their close friends and\nfamily seeing the photos (Van der Nagel and Frith, 2015). The case of r\/gonewild\nis important when considering the double standards which exist for young girls today\nto post or send provocative pictures of themselves online (Mascheroni and\nJiminez, 2015). Both boys and girls tend to eroticise their performance in\npictures (Tortajada, Ara\u00fcna, & Mart\u00ednez as cited in Mascheroni and Jiminez,\n2015, p. 10). However, as Mascheroni and Jiminez (2015) found, boys tend to\nshame girls who post provocative pictures of themselves and there have been\ncases of girls being publicly shamed because boys would publicly share their private\npicture. The protection anonymity grants to women on r\/gonewild is important as\ngirls today are being socialised towards a post-feminist idea where they are\nencouraged to be sexually attractive and active (Lemish as cited in Mascheroni\nand Jiminez, 2015, p. 4). Although, the point of this argument is not to\nencourage promiscuity among youths, it nevertheless remains a social problem. Young\ngirls and women face enough harassment online (i.e. GamerGate) that it is\nimportant to consider their safety first.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anonymity does not equate anti-socialness<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If one is to\nlook at anonymity as being the gateway to anti-social behaviour online, it\nshould also be noted that anonymity is not connected to such behaviours. Chui\n(2014) notes in her article how although anonymity \u201ccreates perception of\nanonymity and lessens inhibition\u201d, it does not mean anti-social behaviour is\nexhibited (p. 8).  Chui (2014) discuss\nhow there are other factors which need to be considered when talking about\nanti-social behaviour through anonymity. Other factors including the\nindividual, their socio-economic situations, motivations for flaming or\ntrolling (pp. 4-5), or the media channels which controls how much the\nindividual can behave in an anti-social manner (p. 6). This has also been\ntheorised by Spears and Lea (as cited in Christopherson, 2006, p. 3050) who\nproposed the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) theory to\nsuggest the condition in social situations are more important to take into\nconsideration when talking about anonymity and anti-social behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, it is\nimportant to recognise that there are different individuals and groups online who\nuses anonymity to their own advantages. In the case of those who troll or flame\nthrough an anonymous name, although anonymity enables such behaviour, this\ndisplay of anti-socialness is dependent on the individual, their social background\nand motivation for doing so (Chui, 2014; Christopherson, 2006). In the cases of\nyoung teens, it is evident how they use anonymity and pseudonymity to freely explore\ntheir identities in the context collapse of mediated space rather than behave\nin anti-social behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, in\na study by Rosenberry (2011), he found that although users believed anonymity\npromotes anger and negative comments, they also support keeping anonymity\nonline citing that it promotes a freer and livelier conversation (p. 16). As\nRosenberry (2011) notes, \u201cthe audience [users] may dislike certain aspects of\nthe forums but nonetheless see anonymity as worth maintaining in spite of its\ndeleterious effects\u201d (p. 17). These results are in line with Van der Nagel and\nFrith\u2019s (2015) conclusion that although anonymity has its detrimental effects,\nit adds to the experience of being social online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This paper has analysed the importance of anonymity and pseudonymity in the Internet by arguing how it is essential for youths to navigate through the context collapse of computer mediated space. It first discussed how identity is, contrary to Zuckerberg\u2019s statement, performative and multi-faceted. Basing the analysis on Goffman\u2019s (1959) impression management, it explored how the identity youths present online is not often a true representation of themselves and why it is unreasonable to force users to create an \u2018authentic\u2019 profile of themselves when identity is performative even outside the context of SNS. Amid the context collapse in a computer mediated space, pseudonymity and anonymity are useful for youths trying to explore their identity, free from the restraints of their parents\u2019 watchful eyes. By being able create mirror networks, they are freely able to perform the identity which they want to perform only with their friends, carving that territorial boundary of self-presentation Goffer (as cited in Van der Nagel and Frith, 2015) notes within an online space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, as Van der Nagel and Frith (2015) argue, anonymity and pseudonymity allow women to explore their sexual identity without the risk of embarrassment among their close social ties and this itself is beneficial for young adolescent girls growing up. By being able to hide behind the anonymity and pseudonymity granted by the Internet, young users can explore their identity and girls can stay safe from any harassment they may receive with their private photos. Lastly, this paper argued against the main arguments the real name movement has against anonymity by discussing how anonymity does not automatically invite the anti-social behaviours they are concerned with. As Chui (2014) notes, although anonymity does enable such behaviour to take place, it is often the social factors around the individual which affects how they use anonymity to their advantage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

boyd,\nd. (2007). Why Youth Heart Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics\nin Teenage Social Life. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning \u2013\nYouth, Identity, and Digital Media Volume (ed. David Buckingham)<\/em>.\ndoi:10.17605\/OSF.IO\/22HQ2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carmody,\nC. L. (2012). \u201cYou have a friend request\u201d; The role of virtual social\nnetworks in identity exploration.<\/em> (Ph.D.), University of California,\nIrvine, Ann Arbor. Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/search-proquest-com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/docview\/1020616238?accountid=10382\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christopherson,\nK. M. (2007). The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet\nsocial interactions: “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You\u2019re a Dog”. Computers\nin Human Behavior, 23<\/em>(6), 3038-3056. doi:10.1016\/j.chb.2006.09.001<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chui,\nR. (2014). A Multi-faceted Approach to Anonymity Online: Examining the\nRelations between Anonymity and Antisocial Behavior. Journal For Virtual\nWorlds Research, 7<\/em>(2). doi:https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4101\/jvwr.v7i2.7073                <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goffman,\nE. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life \/ Erving Goffman<\/em>.\nHarmondsworth: Harmondsworth : Penguin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kang,\nJ., & Wei, L. (2018). Let me be at my funniest: Instagram users\u2019\nmotivations for using Finsta (a.k.a., fake Instagram). Social Science\nJournal<\/em>. doi:10.1016\/j.soscij.2018.12.005<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mascheroni,\nG., Vincent, J., & Jimenez, E. (2015). \u201cGirls are addicted to likes so they\npost semi-naked selfies\u201d: Peer mediation, normativity and the construction of\nidentity online. Cyberpsychology, 9<\/em>(1). doi:10.5817\/CP2015-1-5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McGregor,\nK., & Li, J. (2019). FAKE INSTAGRAMS FOR REAL CONVERSATION: A THEMATIC\nANALYSIS OF THE HIDDEN SOCIAL MEDIA LIFE OF TEENAGERS. Journal of Adolescent\nHealth, 64<\/em>(2S), S39. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pearson,\nE. (2009). All the World Wide Web\u2019s a stage: The performance of identity in\nonline social networks. 2009<\/em>. Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/firstmonday.org\/ojs\/index.php\/fm\/article\/view\/2162.\ndoi:10.5210\/fm.v14i3.2162<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosenberry,\nJ. (2011). Users Support Online Anonymity despite Increasing Negativity. Newspaper\nResearch Journal, 32<\/em>(2), 6-19. doi:10.1177\/073953291103200202<\/p>\n\n\n\n

van der Nagel, E., & Frith, J. (2015Anonymity, pseudonymity, and the agency of online identity: Examining the social practices of r\/Gonewild. 2015<\/em>. Retrieved from https:\/\/ojphi.org\/). ojs\/index.php\/fm\/article\/view\/5615\/4346. doi:10.5210\/fm.v20i3.5615<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons\nAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rachel Tiongco, Curtin University Abstract This conference paper investigates the importance of anonymity in social networking sites. It first tackles the problematic statement by Zuckerberg that to have more than one identity online is to lack integrity by using Goffman\u2019s (1959) impression management to unpack the statement. It will then analyse the ways in which… Continue reading The importance of anonymity and pseudonymity in youths\u2019 exploration of identity online<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[53,55,59,57,56,54,58,52,51],"class_list":["post-140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-identity","tag-anonymity","tag-context-collapse","tag-fake-instagram","tag-impression-management","tag-mirror-networks","tag-performative-identity","tag-pseudonymity","tag-social-networking-sites","tag-youths"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140\/revisions\/147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}