The Blessing of Anonymity

It is easier to be yourself in Manhattan that it is to be yourself in a small town of a few hundred people. Overwhelmingly, most people in a large city do not know who you are and do not care. So, if your behavior is a little quirky nobody even notices. When everybody knows you, the pressures on you to conform are much, much greater.

Everybody has quirks in their behavior, most of which is harmless and only some of which would be cause for real concern. So the anonymity of a large city where the boundaries of acceptable behavior as less confining provides individuals with greater freedom to just be who they are.

Carry this a step further, and consider the anonymity of a virtual world. In a real city, you have a physical presence. People might know where you live. They might know some of your friends. They might even know some members of your family. So, even though there is a great deal of freedom, it is not unlimited freedom. In a virtual world you can change your appearance, your ethnicity, your social class, your age, and even your gender. Try doing all that in a big city. You’re short? No problem, just make yourself tall. You’re aging to fast and want to recapture your youth. We can handle that too. You are lower class and have always wanted to be a refined aristocrat? No sweat. It is within your reach. People come to a virtual world to be whoever they really want to be and your wildest imaginings cannot cover the full range of possibilities.

And one of the elements of a virtual world that makes this possible is anonymity. So, anonymity is a blessing, a real contribution to individual freedom of expression.