The evolution of the online identity
Years ago, during the burgeoning days of the Internet, many people were reluctant to use their real name online. Fast forward to 2012 and more than 500 million people have Facebook profiles with a timeline of their life on full display for many to access. When did the secret identity become uncovered and is it a positive move?
New Canaan resident Fred Chang is well known around town for voicing his opinions on the issues. But even someone with a strong voice like Chang can feel threatened thanks to the advent of technology.
In early 2011, Chang did not support the Main Street sidewalks initiative, which became a very divisive issue in town. His comments were brought up online in a local online media forum.
"There were two comments on Patch (the local online media publication owned by AOL) identifying me by name and I recall one comment was referring to Fred Chang having access to a sidewalk near his home," Chang said. "The person pointed out that he knew where he lived. That person was pro-sidewalk. The other comment was a from a guy on Richmond Hill Road and told me to bug off. I made known the fact that I had contacted the FBI and the state police and had forwarded all the necessary information."
Chang said it was a frightening moment for him because it meant a stranger, or at least someone with no discernible online identity, knew where he lived. Chang has since stopped making comments online
"I discontinued making online comments because I take things personally," he said. "If a person is identified by their real name online, then it is personal."
But that was not always the case. When the Internet first became popular, there was a push to hide your real identity, which changed with the advent of social media.
"The Internet has become has become a so-called garbage dump where some people just want others to know certain things and it has become a meaningless forum for meaningless information," Chang said. "There is no standard. If you get an instrument like the Internet where people can hide behind computers then unless the FBI or the state police gets involved, people can just hide. We see it in schools and workplaces and cyberbullying. Anyone can click and manipulate images on Facebook. I think it's gotten out of control and I personally feel threatened by the uncontrolled storage and dissemination of personal information online."
Farhad Manjoo, of Slate.com, prefers that anonymity was something that thrived only in the beginning of the Internet boom.
"Anonymity has long been hailed as one of the founding philosophies of the Internet, a critical bulwark protecting our privacy," he said. "But that view no longer holds. In all but the most extreme scenarios -- everywhere outside of repressive governments -- anonymity damages online communities. Letting people remain anonymous while engaging in fundamentally public behavior encourages them to behave badly. Indeed, we shouldn't stop at comments," Manjoo said. "Web sites should move toward requiring people to reveal their real names when engaging in all online behavior that's understood to be public -- when you're posting a restaurant review or when you're voting up a story on Reddit, say. In almost all cases, the web would be much better off if everyone told the world who they really are."
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The evolution of the online identity