Anonymity Begins to “See” it’s Decline Online

The entirely visually-anonymous, text-based medium that we tend to think of as CMC is slowly changing. The comfort that parallels with sitting behind one's computer screen, physical appearance unknown to the world, is one of the bases for many of the theories of that we have learned about in COMM 245 thus far. With the advent of Facebook, Skype, and multiple other psychological spaces that give visual information about physical appearance, anonymity is beginning to decline in CMC. Relationships and interpersonal interactions online will likely be the domains in which such changes will occur, as physical appearance is often the first thing we notice about someone before they open their mouth to say a word, or in CMC, type a sentence.

In an online space, people first have the opportunity to get to know someone and then eventually meet the person, seeing their physical appearance. This is a complete reversal of what occurs in a face to face setting, in which people seem to filter others out based on physical appearance, and then take the steps to get to know them. Mckenna’s Relationship Facilitation factors include five features that may be distorted if the anonymity of the internet is reduced. When we introduce pictures and lose the anonymity of the internet, the gating features of face to face communication suddenly reappear. Additionally, the gating features of any psychological space including physical attractiveness, status cues, and shyness, will no longer be removed on the internet, thus losing that equaling of the playing field for those who do not feel as socially competent and enjoy the safety of sitting behind their computer screens in social interactions.

Typically, the visual anonymity of the internet allows for disinhibited behaviors such as increased self-disclosure as a result of increased self-awareness and decreased public-awareness. However, with the disappearance of anonymity online, people may be less willing to divulge such personal information if they no longer believe that they are a “stranger on the train.” “Google Images” will now often produce a picture of people when their names are searched, leaving no room for the selective self-presentation and psychological processes of behavioral confirmation that make up part of Walther’s (1996) Hyperpersonal Model. I do not believe that the Hyperpersonal Model will no longer be applicable next year, but I do think that as we reduce the anonymity of the internet space, the allowance of time for an individual to choose his or her words carefully and give off the best impression of him or herself may too begin to dissolve.

This leveling of the anonymity present online and in face to face interactions may lead to a decline in the amount of time people are spending online, increasing social interactions face to face. This would be quite ironic as technological innovations are typically set in place to further our use of technology. The internet has made such developments and innovations meant to increase social interaction and improve upon itself, that it is beginning to take us back in the other direction to where communication started: Face to face.