Is being anonymous on the Internet making people crueler?

[Leah, I'm HI-larious! (Head Mod)]

I think that people are bound to be crueler if there is no name to their words.

[Maddison]

people will say things if their unknown

[Dion, Keep calm and debate your topic]

I don't necessarily think crueler is the word, but they definitley say things they might otherwise not say. But i think it is a similar thing (lesser extent) on things like text and facebook vs. face to face

[[deleted user]]

i dont think they are curler but they can voice there opinions a lot freer and not have to worry about people buling them.... i admet i do that a lot but im just saing what i think cus i dont have to worryed about getting bullied so i think its a freer way to voce wht they think not cruler but some people probley could be or are being o_O

[John]

Liane wrote: "Do you think this ability to be anonymous, to be able to mold your identity on the internet is making us crueler? "

Yes, in a way.

I liken it to how people become when they're drunk: if you're a mean person, but hide it most of the time, you release that inner personality and become a mean drunk. The alcohol isn't the cause, but its the trigger that allows it to happen.

Of course, other people just become more jovial and generous when drunk, which is what their hidden personality is. That was me. I was always buying rounds back when I drank. everyone was my best buddy. I ran out of money sooooo fast! but I digress.

On the internet, being relatively anonymous is not the cause of people's cruelty, its just the trigger that allows their true personality to come out. You'll hear people say things like: "I'm only mean on the internet" as if the internet makes it ok.

On the other hand, we're all guilty from time to time of forgetting there's a real person on the other end and just slogging away at the words in their post. It becomes abstract enough that some of our interior dialogue that would never come out in real life, makes it to our keyboard. In a way, that's more honest, but obviously in a way that's more hurtful.

[Leah, I'm HI-larious! (Head Mod)]

Liane wrote: "Leah wrote: "I think that people are bound to be crueler if there is no name to their words."

Nice way of putting it. I wonder what makes people a lot crueler when the know their words can't be tr..."

The fact that they can't be tracked down

[Annie]

For everybody, this is different. Some actually abuse this, but you actually can be tracked down, even if anonymous. (Like if you say you're going to kill the president, for example, than secret services can definitely track you down and come to your house.)

People like to express themselves. When bottled up, maybe the outlet for them is the internet. So all the hateful things they bottle up, all the negativity, it just comes gushing out.

So maybe it does make us crueler, but not all of us. That's too broad to say it's making us crueler, since we're all different. That's a generalization.

So I'd say that maybe it does make us crueler. Who knows?

[ShilvaH]

I think it depends on the person.
Others create their identities in the internet just for the fun of fooling someone, others for the sake of boosting their confidence,etc.

[Faye]

Haha yeah! I've been a member of this *won't say the name* site and oh my god, lol. There are lots of people who pretend to be somebody they're not. It was funny and at the same time annoying.

[Faye]

H99 wrote: "Almira wrote: "Haha yeah! I've been a member of this *won't say the name* site and oh my god, lol. There are lots of people who pretend to be somebody they're not. It was funny and at the same time..."

Haha XD Hello female Harry.