Deindividuation

(I had written this piece more than a year ago and forgotten about it. I’ve altered it a bit after a recent article I read.)

We all understand how the virtual world provides a cloak of anonymity and many of us are grateful for it. A year ago I read an article that spoke about ‘moral disengagement’, which simply means that “the further removed we are from the consequences of our actions, the easier it is to emotionally separate ourselves from our own behaviour”, and I realised that what we witness on the internet on a daily basis in terms of comments is a perfect example of moral disengagement.

Last week, I came across another article that explained how, “The shield of anonymity strengthened by pack mentality leads even ‘normal’ people to let out their most violent avatars on the internet.”  Psychologists now call this ‘deindividuation’, (a word I don’t personally like and Word does not acknowledge).

As more and more sites encourage participants to express their opinions, a large number of people are finding that the anonymity of the internet is a perfect tool to vent frustrations. The vitriol that is spewed in the name of comments is unbelievable. Nothing is sacred and nobody seems to be scared. Scathing rants bordering on the abusive are heaped on everything and everybody. It’s almost like graffiti artists, you know the ones who perfected the art of defacing good pieces of furniture or walls to express their opinions, have found a never ending platform to voice opinions.

Trawl through the comment sections on any site or forum and you’ll find tons of examples of fantasised violence and rage coming from seemingly normal people, who are really normal people in their regular lives but morph into ‘trolls’ (as they came to be known) in the virtual avatars, that makes you wonder where all this comes from or where it will lead. Personally, they seem to expose the rampant xenophobic behaviour of people that is becoming all too common in the modern world. Good, healthy debates and legitimate counter arguments are drowned out by often ridiculous arguments, personal vendetta and slights. At times you notice a pattern, with a certain group of people constantly barraging each other and you realise that you’ve just witnessed cyber bullying happen right before you.

For some people, the internet is a God-sent miracle that allows them to express their frustrations; most of this can be legitimate annoyances while for others it can be just sheer delight in attacking from behind a veil. Getting annoyed, throwing abuses around, ranting and raving in public spaces can damage your reputation, often irrevocably; on the other hand online forums or sites can ban you only to have you resurface as another identity with no damage whatsoever to you personally.

I guess that’s the problem with anonymity. It creates lions out of lambs; and in a space where nothing can really harm us there is no telling the limits we are ready to cross.