Test 1 Week 6 Anonymity

4 Types of Anonymity:

1) Discursive a. The message cannot be attributed to any one sender 2) Visual a. The person is not visible 3) Pseudonymity a. We don't know the true persons name 4) Full anonymity a. When we not nothing about the person at all

Define and give examples of the 6 factors that contribute to online disinhibition.

1. Dissociative Anonymity a. When a person does not own their behavior online. "That's not me at all". You feel a sense of freedom from your real identity. Nobody can link it to your identity. Disassociating 2. Invisibility a. We can travel the web without anybody knowing it. Nobody knows where we are going and where we've been. 3. Asynchronicity a. time Lag. Not communicating in real time. I can send a message and can run away. 4. Solipsistic Introjection a. Everything your reality starts to become all in your head and its married with someone else's. The absence of ftf with texting can alter someone's self-boundaries. Mind mergers with someone else's online. Introjected into ones own psyche. Imagination and unconscious. 5. Dissociative imagination a. Has to do with the actual characters created in cyber-space. feel like the characters exist in a different space. Online personas live in make believe dimension. Separate from responsibilities from the real world. 6. Minimization of status and authority a. In ftf we can see authority but becomes complicated online. The absence of those cues reduces their impact on users. Authority is diminished, does not have the same effect online. The idea that everyone on the internet has an idea to voice themselves and be who they are.

What is deindivduation?

Deindividuation is the loss of self-awareness in groups and will cling to the group.

Explain Online Disinhibition Effect and the two types:

Disinhibition - when people conduct themselves in an anti normal way. Saying things that you wouldn't normally say Online Disinhibition Effect: Two Types 1) Benign - When people feel comfortable sharing secret emotions and they also will show random acts of kindness 2) Toxic - People will use rude language and criticisms with threats and hate speech. Includes the idea that people feel comfortable visiting the dark web.

What did the Lapidot-Lefler & Barak (2012) study want to know? What did they study find?

Effects of anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eye-contact on toxic online disinhibition The found: Results suggested that lack of eye-contact was the chief contributor to toxic online disinhibition.

When is anonymity a good thing?

Lives at risk Political Freedom Privacy People feel less vulnerable Catharsis Sharing Ideas Self-Disclosure Is a Right for everyone to have anonymity

What is SIDE theory?

SIDE theory suggests that with CMC anonymous group members will experience a heightened sense of social identity and show an increased likelihood of protecting that group by disparaging those who disagree with their beliefs.

What did Christie (2016) study want to know? What factors did Christie (2016) explore? What did Christie (2016) find in their study?

This research examined the question of whether the anonymity found in most types of computer mediated communication (CMC) impacted individual reactions to people who agreed or disagreed with their own opinions. Factors: whether anonymity leads to disinhibited communication. Found: The findings that higher self-esteem, greater sense of autonomy, and lower social anxiousness are key characteristics in the interaction between anonymity and harsh evaluations of commenters. Our results did not show a significant interaction between anonymity and agreement, thus failing to support the primary prediction based on the SIDE model. We expected anonymous individuals to experience a heightened sense of their social identity, evaluating those who disagreed with their opinions in a more negative fashion. However, this predicted interaction was not significant.

What is the civilizing effect?

the idea that people behave a whole lot better when names are attached to comments