Anonymity on the Internet

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Anonymity on the Internet

Would you rather learn about someone via Internet interactions or face to face? I have noticed increased shadiness when it comes to identifying one’s self on the internet, whether it be on a dating site, in email, through posting on Blogger-type sites, or in instant messaging. There seems to be two different types of people out there, those who are suspicious and those that just don’t seem to care about who read their stuff. This is problematic in many ways. First off, there is the feeling of anonymity and that no one will really know who they are or what they are doing on the web, for example, adults that pose as teens to hopefully seduce a naïve boy or girl, or married/attached individuals that are involved in “internet dating.” Secondly, there is the issue with professionalism and credibility. Perhaps I am the suspicious sort, but I take publications found in professional databases and articles in actual textbooks more seriously than information posted on the Internet. How do I know concretely that the author has the credentials that they say they do, and how can I know for sure that their research or information is legitimate?

As for those people that are suspicious, they seem to have this ever-changing personality. I will refer to one of my good friends, Lisa (name has been changed) who loves tooling around on the ‘net but doesn’t trust anyone, so she becomes very creative with her profile. Depending on her mood, she frequently says she is from California or somewhere exotic in Europe, even though she has always lived in Michigan. Her age and defining characteristics also change like Michigan weather. Her reason for being so chameleon-like is to protect her true identity so no one ...

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...ogy, but it is all up to how people embrace or reject the change. Just as some people choose to demonstrate unprofessional communication methods, ethically unacceptable behavior or just seem to go over board with information. It is a personal choice.

Works Cited

Baker, Nicholson. “Deadline.” Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Tribble, Evelyn B. and Anne Trubek. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Inc., 2003: 9-34.

Birkerts, Sven. “Into the Electronic Millennium.” Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Tribble, Evelyn B. and Anne Trubek. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Inc., 2003: 62-74.

Sosnoski, James. “Hyper-readers and their Reading Engines.” Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Ed. Tribble, Evelyn B. and Anne Trubek. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Inc., 2003: 400-417.

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