Thesis

Question

Does anonymity or pseudonymity lead people to speak out against injustice or to 

behave badly in online communities?

Thesis

Research indicates that anonymity or pseudonymity allows outspoken individuals to speak out about their personal experiences flamboyantly in online communities.This paper explores the power that anonymity or pseudonymity can provide an individual when they feel the need to speak out against injustice and how this can lead to bad behaviors in online communities.

I was really interested in how an individuals age can affect their choice to post anonymously. Through secondary research I have found that age and interests greatly influence how individuals post. This  inspired me to find a scholarly source to help back up my findings.

An individuals age and maturity play a huge part in whether or not they will post anonymously. An older individual concentrates on reading the rules of the site (Hugl, 2011). Ulrike Hugl states, "based on many publicly known privacy breaches communicated in media information privacy related to online social networking sites has become a common discussed issue"  (2011, para. 3). He is suggest that the breach of privacy is an issue that dictates how individuals publish information online (Hugl, 2011). Privacy seems to play a major role in why the older generation prefers to keep their posting anonymously.

Reference

Hugl, U. (2011). Reviewing person's value of privacy of online social networking.  Internet Research, 21(4), 384-407. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10662241111158290