The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet social interactions: “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog”

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2006.09.001

Computers in Human Behavior

Volume 23, Issue 6, November 2007, Pages 3038-3056

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2006.09.001 Get rights and content

Abstract

The growth of the Internet at a means of communication has sparked the interest of researchers in several fields (e.g. communication, social psychology, industrial-organizational psychology) to investigate the issues surrounding the expression of different social behaviors in this unique social context. Of special interest to researchers is the increased importance that anonymity seems to play in computer-mediated communication (CMC). This paper reviews the literature related to the issues of anonymity within the social context, particularly in CMC, demonstrating the usefulness of established social psychological theory to explain behavior in CMC and discussing the evolution of the current theoretical explanations in explaining the effects of anonymity in social behavior in CMC environments. Several suggestions for future research are proposed in an attempt to provide researchers with new avenues to investigate how anonymity can play both positive and negative roles in CMC.

Section snippets

Definitions of anonymity

The construct of anonymity has long been of interest to social psychologists and other social scientists. Anonymity has traditionally been conceived as the inability of others to identify an individual or for others to identify one’s self. This may be within a large social context, such as a crowd, or in smaller context, such as two-person communications over the Internet. However, it has been suggested that there are really two broad categories of anonymity: technical anonymity and social

Positive and negative effects of anonymity

Today’s current events concerning the uses of CMC by individuals, including e-mail, blogs, and social networking sites such as My Space and Facebook, have brought attention to the importance of the effect of anonymity in CMC. To understand the effects of anonymity in interpersonal interactions we must look at how anonymity can influence communications at both the individual level and the group level. Several past social psychological concepts can explain how anonymity can result in either

Theories of anonymity in FtF environments

One of the most influential theories describing the effect of anonymity on behavior is Zimbardo’s (1969) deindividuation theory. The deindividuated state was described as a state in which individuals within a group are not “seen or paid attention to as individuals” (Festinger, Pepitone, & Newcomb, 1952, p. 382). Thus, under the anonymity provided by being a member of a crowd, it was predicted that when “under conditions where the member is not individuated in the group, there is likely to occur

Theories of anonymity in CMC environments

Since the early 1990s researchers have begun to explore the effects on anonymity on CMC in much further detail, taking into account some of the special features of the Internet that are not available in FtF communications (e.g. lack of visual and auditory cues, asynchronous communication, isolation from those that one is communicating with) and most researchers in this area have agreed that new theories of interpersonal behavior are required to more fully explain and understand how anonymity

The social use of technology

The equalization theory and SIDE theory describe the effects of anonymity have helped to explain and predict how individuals will use anonymity in CMC. Other theories have also been developed to help describe how technology itself can influence social behavior. These theories have primarily been applied to organizational studies of business communications but have relevance to other social uses of technology. One theory that could have dramatic importance in investigating the effects of

Conclusion

In sum, anonymity has been of interest to social researchers for many decades. The changing face of social communication has lead to the proliferation of the use of computer technology as an important form of interpersonal communication. Because CMC affords many more possibilities to keep oneself anonymous, it is important to understand how these technologies provide anonymity to users and how users of these technologies utilize anonymity. Some of these uses can be of a positive nature, such as

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^☆: Steiner, P. (July 5, 1993). New Yorker cartoon, p. 61.

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The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet social interactions: “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog”☆

Abstract

Section snippets

Definitions of anonymity

Positive and negative effects of anonymity

Theories of anonymity in FtF environments

Theories of anonymity in CMC environments

The social use of technology

Conclusion

The Social Science Journal

International Journal of Human–Computer Studies

Leadership Quarterly

Organizational behavior and Human Decision Processes

Computers in Human Behavior

Journal of Environmental Psychology

Organizational & Human Decision Processes

Group process in face-to-face and computer mediated communication

Behaviour and Information Technology

The nature of prejudice

Culture and environment

The environment and social behavior

Equality of participation and influence in groups: the effects of communication medium and sex composition

Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

Bystander intervention on emergencies: diffusion of responsibility

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Murder, she read

New York Magazine

A foundation for the study of group decision support systems

Management Science

Capturing complexity in advanced technology use: adaptive structuration theory

Organization Science

Deindividuation, self-awareness, and disinhibition

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Deindividuation: the absence of self-awareness and self-regulation in group members

Effects of deindividuation variables among Halloween trick-or-treaters

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

The equalization phenomenon: status effect in computer-mediated and face-to-face decision-making groups

Human–Computer Interaction

Effects of team cohesion and identifiability on social loafing in relay swimming performance

International Journal of Sport Psychology

Some consequences of de-individuation in a group

Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology

Computer-mediated group work: the interaction of member sex and anonymity

Communication Research

The effectiveness of a prison and parole system

A manifesto for cyborgs: science, technology, and socialist feminism in the 1908’s

Mirror, mirror… The importance of looks in everyday life

The naval ship as an urban design problem

Naval Engineers Journal

Gender and democracy in computer-mediated communication

Electronic Journal of Communication

Information suppression and status persistence in group decision-making: the effects of communication media

Human Communication Research

Social loafing under fatigue

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

The story of psychology

Group polarization: a critical review and meta-analysis

Journal of Personality Social Psychology

Toward a theory of automated group work: the de-individuating effects of anonymity

Small Group Research

Self-disclosure in computer-mediated communication: the role of self-awareness and visual anonymity

European Journal of Social Psychology