Anonymity on social media and its ugly consequences

For the past few months, I have been receiving at least one disturbing message of unknown origin on WhatsApp daily. Many of these forwarded messages are crafted from partial truths. As their content makes clear, the ulterior aim of these ‘forwards’ is to sharpen differences between the followers of two religions and re-ignite one of the oldest conflicts in human history. Digital platforms are being used for many other ills, too, such as spreading fake news and trolling one’s opponents. In recent times, digital media has been used to incite many a violent act in the physical world too. Digital media giants have been experimenting with multiple ways to filter out or label negative or misleading posts. But they have not had much success. Many observers are worried that these trends could affect digital media’s image and harm its future.

Why do so many people behave in such an uncivilized manner on social media platforms? The answer might be found in many studies, including a few famous ones conducted by Philip Zimbardo, an American psychologist. Participants in studies who wore hoods over their faces, which offered them a sense of anonymity, were more likely to indulge in undesirable behaviours than those whose identities were known. Anonymity does breed anti-social behaviour. Fake IDs, pseudonyms and unverified user-accounts abound online, giving people ample opportunity to mask their identities as they post messages.