The Anonymity Advantage

A popular topic of conversation has been over the negative effects of anonymity online.  It is impossible to deny the downfall of applications like Yik Yak and Secret that allow for anonymous posters.  I think that the main detriment of the apps results from a poster's ability to avoid accountability.  Whenever posters are not held accountable for their comments or thoughts, most of what they share can easily be either untrue or hateful towards others.

Is it right to be able to say something online without an identity that you would have never said otherwise?  Is it right to intentionally bully others without them knowing who initiated the deed?  

Although not a frequent user, I have Yik Yak on my phone for spurts of boredom when I feel like reading something humorous.  While I do find some posts hilarious, the overall majority of them are simply mean.  The most hurtful and alarming posts are those that target specific individuals, and I think that mechanisms for anonymous commentary directly feed into the cyberbullying that people constantly work so hard to oppose.

But if these applications have so many unfavorable characteristics, then why are they popping up everywhere.  Many of us have argued that people simply like the thrill of getting to share their thoughts and rants, without others knowing who they are.  Others believe, like me, that a large contributor to their success is the humor factor.  

With so many nasty outcomes though, I believe that anonymity online must have a bigger advantage. It can't just be making people laugh with perhaps inappropriate commentary that wouldn't have necessarily been shared in a forum with identity policies.

When you think past the bullying and the pointless postings, it is easier to see that anonymity allows more than just self-expression of jokes or stabs at other individuals.  It allows for self-expression of revolutionary ideas.  It allows for controversial arguments that ignite conversation and thought, that otherwise would have been simply kept under wraps.

After deeper examination, I found this New York times article that helped to reinforce my claim.  
It drives home the point that destroying anonymous platforms could ultimately destroy unconventional actions online.  

It articulates my thoughts on the advantages of anonymity perfectly, but I disagree with the article on a concept that it calls "traceable anonymity."  It suggests that anonymity that harms other people should be traced to reveal the original poster's identity.  While this would be ideal, it does not seem plausible.  

I believe that to benefit from the advantages of anonymity, we must learn to deal with the disadvantages that come along with them.  To help reduce the malicious side effects of anonymity online, we need to encourage others to refrain from posting erroneous information and from harassing others in these anonymous forums.  Anonymity could be positive if we all stop supporting the negative.  We're all guilty- even me!