While I was finishing the room for debate assignment yesterday, I began to seriously contemplate the positive and negative effects of anonymity on online discourse. I was most intrigued by the article entitled "Anonymity Online Serves Us All", by Gabriella Coleman. After being told of the negative effects of online anonymity time and time again, I feel that some of the good that online anonymity can do has been somewhat neglected. While I understand that some people are facing seemingly overwhelming harassment online that can't be traced down, however, this factor of not being traced down is what also saves us all. For example, we now have more protection from a practice known as "doxing", or releasing all of a person's private information without their consent. Threats like doxing can be much more damaging than some incivility in a comment section. I don't meant to devalue the struggles of those who face online harassment, rather, I hope to show why I feel that anonymity is priceless.
One occasion where having anonymity is useful is when you want to talk about an issue that might be uncomfortable discussing openly, as seen in Coleman's article. The writer mentions "medical patients and mothers discussing sensitive issues" and being much more able to seek help under a pseudonym than with their own identity that can be seen by anyone. The goal is to be able to comfortably talk about otherwise stigmatizing subjects. I might also add (even though it has been mentioned previously countless times), that a breach of anonymity can hinder our ability to have necessary discourse on controversial issues. As Coleman puts it, "Anonymous expression has been foundational to our political expression since its inception." If we are unable to express our views in a productive, yet protected fashion, we may as well not have a First Amendment. Imagine amplifying the effects of trolling when you have an opinion the troll disagrees with. They could possibly find out much more information about you that could be extremely harmful.
However, I may have the wrong idea entirely. If you have any contrasting thoughts on the subject, I encourage you to comment.
I see the idea of anonymity the same way. Basically, it's both a blessing and a curse. You can use it for good or evil and only you can decide how you'll handle the responsibility in your hands. Sadly, most people in online communities make the wrong decision and use anonymity to send death threats or harass influential figures in media. I do agree that without this tool then there wouldn't be much of a point to the First Amendment but that is also a reason to question the limit to which the amendment extends. How are we going to discipline the anonymous troll online and limit their free speech while we allow, as you said, a medical patient to go under a pseudonym without any repercussions? I see that the two are doing very different things with their anonymity but the limits the amendment bear come into question once we begin to take away the rights of someone else and leave another's untouched.
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