The Power of Anonymity

When we had the conversation in class about anonymity and The Secret Woman, I found it very interesting that it came with the time of the rise of "Yik Yak," a new app where you can make posts anonymously about anyone or anything with no connection. And yes, I too shook my head when my friends brought it up in conversation. At first I thought it was pretty stupid and seemed like people were just asking for rude name dropping and a gateway into cyber bullying and I dismissed the idea pretty quickly. I felt similarly about that ask.fm thing that was a rise like two years ago; it was as if people were basically asking for trouble. But why is anonymity so dangerous? And does it have to be? Why does the fact that something is anonymous assumed to be dangerous? And why does anonymity raise the level of intrigue so drastically? 

It made me think a lot about how our name is attached to everything we do and how this changes when we are no longer defined by what people say. Why is a website where people can ask you anonymous questions so much more "powerful" and interesting and intriguing than just sending people questions if you have a question? The way that people are able to speak with more vulgar and passion when their name is not attached to it says a lot about our culture as a whole, especially social media culture. So much of our daily lives happens online and in the majority of situations, our name is attached to everything we do. I think its fascinating that people are so much more eager to say things and make comments about things when their name isn't attached. We don't want to be defined by what we say because people might take it negatively. Not only does this say a lot about our fear of loosing our personal image, but it exemplifies also how we are able to create a whole new image online. The fact that this virtual definition of ourselves is rising into so much power says so much about our culture that I think is only progressing with time.