Losing Anonymity Even On Line

Have you noticed we are losing the ability to remain anonymous? With the advent of so many communication devices we are now almost always being monitored in highly trafficked parks, malls, airports and stadiums....it wouldn't even surprise me to hear there are cameras in rest rooms. Those cell phones so many are addicted to these days even have tracking devices to find people. Strangers can identify a person's identity and whereabouts if both have a cell phone. The prediction is that soon there will be apps (oh, how I hate that word!) on smart phones that let anyone identify random faces in a crowd.

But the Internet seems to be the last refuge for anonymity, the public space that let us broadcast opinions without showing our identity. However, even internet is starting to lose the attribute of anonymity, as a new campaign for disclosure now starts to change it. Google and Facebook, for example, have both said that anonymity on the internet is a bad thing and that it must end. One wonders if the end of Internet anonymity be good or bad for individuals and for society? Probably both.

For society it is more a good thing in the sense that online anonymity is primarily sought by hate mongers or those engaged in dishonest business, since it makes finding them and making them accountable far less likely. When people are required to post their names, for instance, the dialogue they post is far more civil than when they can be anonymous. So losing one's anonymity on line does make using the Internet a more pleasant experience.

But being allowed to write anonymously has a big benefit for both the individual and for society, because it makes it far easier for the powerless to challenge the powerful. People just "speak up" more often and more forcefully when they do not have to reveal themselves. Think of all the secret whistle blowers (the recent Wiki leaks, for instance), and it's not hard to imagine that the good done by their revelations would never have happened had they feared having their identities revealed.

Encouraging civility on line by requiring identity, while at the same time preserving avenues of dissent, is a hard balance. The debate over whether one should have a right to anonymity in public spaces is now ongoing and being decided piecemeal....in favor of erasing anonymity But it brings forth another question, as those in favor of anonymity are losing this debate. Will the loss of anonymity bring about more spying on private interactions? It already does so in dictatorial nations that "regulate" internet use in the name of "safety" or "civility".

Enjoy your freedom to log on line and the right we now have to not have our identity be exposed without our consent. These times of anonymity seem to be vanishing in the wind.