Day 4:

Since most of us are already familiar with the pros of staying anonymous since we've all probably had experience with it. This paper will focus on the cons of anonymity and will therefore be written from a biased perspective. This does not represent my views. 

Anonymity

           The word anonymous is derived from the Late Latin word anōnymus and Greek word anōnumos, coming from the two Greek words an plus onoma denoting without name, both meaning nameless. The term anonymity is the state of being without a name or being unacknowledged/unidentifiable by a name or in short, being anonymous. It has been used regularly for the past two centuries but has now especially bloomed in the technology era. Such in the online world, there are now incognito alternatives to your regular profiles. Through cyberbullying, accountability, and privacy reason, the word itself and similar terms have been unclear to many. 

           What is cyberbullying? According to the organization Kids Health, “Cyberbullying is when someone uses technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person” and how, “Cyberbullying hurts people, and in some cases is against the law.” In layman's terms, one person uses technology to harm another person that can be considered illegal. Often the person bullying tries to make themselves anonymous to avoid consequences in their real life. The person being bullied may be forced to go anonymous as well because of these regular threats. Sometimes even bystanders hide themselves to not let anybody know that they were involved in the situation. The perpetrator, victim, and bystanders going anonymous can cause several problems such as accountability. 

            Too often, those who are behind the attacks remain anonymous face no repercussion. This creates a vicious cycle for the perpetrator to continue attacks on those who are innocent. They would never learn and grow from their mistakes to become a better person, reducing the number of bullies and further decreasing the idea in general. However, the system should not punish these people if they are caught, instead, they should be allowed another chance while allowing them to understand their past mistakes. The victims would also usually like justice of some sort. 

           This leads to the matter and issue of privacy and security. Another reason why many choose to remain unknown to the world around them. They do this in the hopes of staying incognito as not to destroy or change their reputations elsewhere. They also do this to not attract attention and trouble and to steer clear of a breach of their safety. This is very logical, but to also prevent future cases, those in charge should not focus all of their resources on security but also stop those infringing on others’ rights. 

           To wrap everything up, anonymity is the act of remaining identityless without being able to be acknowledged by others. Since the rise of the online age, the state of being anonymous has been controversial. Staying anonymous can allow a bully to continue their actions without facing any consequences while also forcing the other parties involved to do the same. This also creates a loop that is difficult to break that causes massive privacy and security failures that don't prevent someone else from violating another's borders. To conclude, there are many reasons to not interfere and regulate anonymity.