Anonymity is awful

I'm not going to be recommending any specific video from Youtube on this blog post, mainly because it encompasses every Youtube video. It encompasses every single place on the internet where you can say something publicly without ever having to say who you are, and there are a lot of places. Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, Ask.com, Urban Dictionary, and so so many others. When we take away the responsibility of people, the consequences of their words directly upon them, we invite people to spout the most awful things that come to their mind.

I have seen genocidal, racist, sexist, rude, profanity-filled, immoral, and evil comments on Youtube, and not even cared. They have become so commonplace on websites that even being able to report people for their comments has no real effect. It's everywhere! You might say that people have identities when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, but most often it is made up. There are fake celebrity accounts scattered all over the place. We have no idea if Jake Henslow from Nebraska is Jake Henslow from Nebraska.

This gives people the opportunity to say whatever they want to without any repercussions. Now I don't think these people actually deeply believe what they are saying. They either need a way to relieve anger and stress, or they do it for the shock value because that is amusing to them. So my first piece of advice is to never take any online comments too seriously.

This is a major issue though, because people do take these internet comments extremely seriously. When we take away the immediate consequences, people assume that they aren't having any serious impact. However, we all know exactly how serious these comments can be, and the large effect they have. We have all heard in recent years of cyberbullying, the online harassment of other people, often anonymously. This has driven people to depression, rage, and even serious actions like violence or suicide. I am all for the current attempt to crackdown on cyberbullying. Just recently, someone posted a racist filled message on the Washington High School webpage advocating for the KKK. I can absolutely guarantee that they, and most of the other hateful anonymous commentors, would never think to post such awful messages if they had to have their name on it.

I think if any comments are going to be made on the internet, a place where they will exist forever. You should think long enough about whether you want to post that message, that you feel proud to put your name on the page.

My name is Adam G. Burstain, I live in Cedar Rapids, and I go to Kennedy High School. I hope no one out there lets the hateful anonymous comments of others affect them personally, and I hope that no one would ever want to post those comments. Thanks for reading