Misleading or Occasionally Necessary? –The Pseudonym/Anonymity Controversy

Misleading or Occasionally Necessary? –The Pseudonym/Anonymity Controversy

It is interesting to see how this issue has become so prevalent in the past decade when in fact pseudonyms have been used for centuries. Women authors often would use a male pseudonym, pen name or simply give their first name initials in order to be taken seriously as a writer or author. Joanne Rowling or as we all know her J.K Rowling decided to use a pen name after her publisher Barry Cunningham suggested it. Cunningham told Rowling that young boys might be less enticed to buy a book written by a woman therefore it would be best to use gender neutralizing initials. I think that authors do have to consider their ideal audience when choosing whether or not to use their real name or not. A male author who may be writing novels about sappy teen romance may choose to use initials in order to broaden their audience who may be wary of a man writing about such a young topic.

Also in the acting world it is not uncommon for actors to take on a different name in order to be more recognizable and well known. Jennifer Aniston’s real name is Jennifer Anistonapaulos, which would be harder for audiences to pronounce therefore hindering her celebrity. But this is not the case for all with Canadian television and radio personality George Stroumboulopoulos keeping his Greek heritage evident and it has in fact helped his celebrity with people knowing him as the host with the super long last name. 

In terms of online privacy I completely understand why people might decide to use a false name. In today’s society there are preconceived perceptions and stereotypes surrounding names and the culture that surrounds those names. Writers and bloggers might use a username or use a general western name in order to avoid judgment and reach out to as many readers as possible. If reasons for concealing identity are well thought out and meaningful I fully support the use of pseudonyms but when false identities are used in order to deceive and manipulate readers I think the dark side of the online community becomes visible. We all hear about pedophiles using fake names that suggest that they are young girls in order to meet other girls through the use of chat rooms and even face book. The documentary Catfish also showed how easily people could create fake profiles and fake friends in order to hide their true identity. Now with Catfish: The T.V Show it is becoming increasingly obvious that profiles using stolen pictures and false identities is a widespread epidemic.

I think that using a name that looks legitimate in conjunction with fake pictures and also fabricated friends is a serious disrespect to anyone who communicates with that person because the other person is clearly being manipulated to believe something that simply isn’t real. In terms of obvious false usernames I think that at least the writer isn’t trying to make you believe something that isn’t true. But the fact that there isn’t a concrete name that can be held accountable for anything posted lowers the writer’s ethos in terms of credibility and authority. Motives a reader may develop or have when reading certain articles on the Internet vary according to what the reader’s intention is. If the reader is writing a scientific paper then the article’s author is going to have to have a real and credible name most likely with credentials such as a master’s or doctorate degree. If the reader’s intention is to be entertained then it doesn’t matter whether or not the article’s author has a real name or not. Although there are negative and positive aspects to online privacy it all comes down to whether or not the writer’s intentions are meaningful and genuine or not.