March 20, 2007
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Anonymity Online
I was just reading an article that was discussing the issue of anonymity allows online users to get nasty. Since people don’t have their name on their site, they take freedom to say things they would never say otherwise.
The topic was about the woman who was 400 pounds and gave birth. She did not know she was pregnant. A bunch of people posted about the woman online. They made fun of her. One person said of her, “”A pig is a pig.” Another person suggested she needed to go on the program “The Biggest Loser.” Here is the link: Link
I think people tend to be nastier online but hardly anyone would actually admit it.
Do you think you are nastier online than you are in person?
Comments (135)
I’m nasty just to get a rise out of people
Perhaps a bit nastier, but I’m pretty mean in person.
I’ll whisper things to close friends if I know they’ll find it funny, I’m sure everyone has nasty thoughts, it’s about whether to act on those thoughts as with anything else
You know, the funny part is, people think I just act like a dickhead online, but I’m a hell of a lot more grating and profane in person.
Also a touch more cynical, hard as that may be to believe.
I think I am equally nasty in person and online; I say and type a lot of things without thinking about them first.
No. I’m not really nasty either way, to be honest. I may be a bit more forthright about my opinions online.
I’m a toothed vagina both ONLINE and OFFLINE.
Woah, you posted while I was reading the last post. Am I nastier? Nay sir. Am I more open and blunt? Often. It would defeat the purpose of my blog if I turned nasty!
I think people are less afraid to say what they really think. They aren’t necessarilly nastier, only more honnest and more blunt.
I’m obnoxious in person as well, but online it’s much more fun.
no, not really
I can be pretty rude in person
Absolutely not!
I’m a little more open, but I wouldn’t say nastier…
well i’m pretty nasty in real life, but i’m such i’m a touch more online.
Hmm. Well, I act the same way to my friends online and off (sarcastic, often obnoxious), but I’m much nicer to strangers in real life.
dude! When Building_A_Mystery was harassing me, I made a facebook post about this very thing!
people totally use not having to say things in person or otherwise be held accountable to their advantage.
Nope, I think I might be nicer…
Candy
yes.
Let me tell you something. Coming from someone who is a “plus size” person I can tell you that anonymity or not people will say what they say.
You get in a fight or someone doesn’t like something and what pops out…Fat bitch, tubby…etc. I think that people say things anonymously just as much as they say them to your face.
I would love a world where thin people were not the norm…where they were the outcased, even if for one day. So those who pick on others could feel how bad they make you feel. How deep the hurt goes.
PS: I know several people who have gone in with stomach pains and come out with a baby….and all of them were not overweight in the slightest. Sometimes things like that just happen.
I think people tend to be a lot more blunt online. But most of the kids from my school are a lot nicer in person than when they type things into their computers. So I guess it depends on the person.
Sometimes. Usually I try to be nice.
I think they might be nastier….because they do not have to worry about what others think of them. If you become unpopular online. Kill your anonymous character and remake another.
But as the saying goes… “out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth speaks.”
I’m only nasty when provoked. If I acting bitchy towards you…you most likely annoy the hell out of me.
That being said, my level of nastiness is about equal.
No, I’m nasty all the time.
I don’t think I am…and most of the people I interact with online I know in person anyway. But I dunno, other people may be.
I’m not nasty online or in person… at least I’d like to think that.
No, but i’m more obnoxious.
me personally no… but people in general… yes – especially young folks.
No, I try to think of how I’d like to be treated.
For me to be nasty, I would have to respond quickly, without time to filter my words. (I’m reminded of C.S. Lewis’ brilliant discussion of rats in the cellar.) I’m always afforded the luxury of ample time when online, so I would say that I’m more likely to be mean in person.
I’m nasty online and in real life. Not much difference.
Hey, at least I admit it.
yes. i’m a nasty bitch online, but in person i’m a very gentler person.
NOT!
i’ll kick your ass in person too, dan!
I’m very nice in person, generally nice online. Many others seem to enjoy starting argumetns and being generally nasty online, but I don’t use the Internet for that purpose, although I will tell people off if they are being nasty online (which I probably won’t do live).
Now that I am older, I tend not to say the things I think in real life out loud unless I am provoked. I might whisper to my mom, husband, and definitely my brother but I don’t think I would say the things loud enough for others to hear. In my 20′s it was completely different.
“I would love a world where thin people were not the norm”
Thin people aren’t the norm. The average size of an American woman is a size 14. Thin people get bitched at as well. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people call me “anorexic bitch” or made comments about how unattractive I was because I am skinny.
It goes both ways.
I might be more honest, which may be more nasty, but I’m not intentionally nastier.
No, but sometimes more articulate and careful – I sometimes think i type and write better than I speak in person… and usually im either discussing theology or trying to encourage people, so it bothers me that stuff like that goes on online.
Thats why depression and anxiety are the among the worst killers.
You dont motivate others through hate but always through love and accountability.
- Daniel (doubledb)
Dan, you are such an idiot. Betcha can’t find me!
no. =)
no but i can be a little rough in person
bittersunday unattractive?
I insulted you all the time, but that would be a lie
No, I think I am nicer. lol
i’m a bitch all the time.
“Thin people get bitched at as well… It goes both ways.
Posted 3/20/2007 9:51 PM by bittersunday”
As another skinny girl I say – hear, hear!
i wouldn’t say anything that i wouldnt actually think or say in person. but i think it applies generally to most..it definitely doesnt work the OTHER way, apparently.
I really try to not be nasty ever. But if I was going to be nasty I’d do it online, for sure.
HEY PEOPLE, THE REAL QUESTION THAT NEEDS ANSWERED IS WHO HAS SEX WITH A 400-LB WOMAN?
While I have had my share of regretful statements online, I’ve known myself to be more apt at cussing or yelling in personal interactions. I’ll take a unfair jab at someone to whom I’m intimate with because I know how to wound such a person much “better” than someone else I’ve known online for only a brief interval.
People online don’t have to read what you write. If you go around confronting people on the street then it is much harder for them to avoid it. So I am definitely harsher online. If they don’t like it they don’t have to read it, they can ignore it. In person I tend to opt for offending people a little less. Usually.
No! I think I am very pleasant on-line, but my attitude towards certain people in person can be very judgmental and aarogant sometimes. Of course, blood sugar levels have a little to do with that, but still, I should not use that as an excuse.
I’ve never met any of my online friends – if that’s the right word – IRL, so I can’t compare re others, and I’m much th eame on or off. But the secrets that total strangers will tell online is a different matter. Much, much more revelation than in real life. Perhaps it’s because the “uhms” and “ahs” and non-verbal cues of IRL cannot occur, or perhaps it’s because we are forced to “speak in turn.” I don’t know.
i’m not nastier but i would embarrass myself more. haha but then again i embarrass myself off line as well. i’m not ashamed of things…but i would mention what bothers me online than voicing it…
<3ALways,
Nary
I don’t make fun of people for reasons like that ever though. More like criticizing idiotic Conservative viewpoints and Liberal viewpoints that aren’t close enough to the radical left for me.
No one can be as nasty online as they are in person until someone invents the e-fart.
maybe just a little more honest. I think its just easier for me online then to talk in person =x
no..
but’s that’s mean… some people are just cruel
honestly. no ha. What I say online. I’d say in person. sooo I don’t know what that says about me but…..
Yeah, I must admit, I’m at least a little more blunt online than I am face-to-face.
possibly. i’m probably equally nasty in person though. when i think something is ridiculous i’ll call attention to it either way. (i don’t just get nasty about dumb shit like whether someone is fat or ugly though, only when someone does ridiculous things)
The quite shy boy who never tried this approach before…
I mean, what do you mean by NASTY?
Mean?
No, I try not to be mean, under any circumstances.
God bless the rave scene. I wont blog about the results of my experiments. I still hope to find my beautiful petite Asian wife on xanga, but I hope to not be completely spoiled before I meet her in person.
No, I’m just me. I don’t really have time to make up an alternate persona for online….. >:^[
You know what, thats a STUPID question. Really idiotic. Nothing compared to people’s RETARDED answers though…
YOU DON’T KNOW ME!!!!
i’m a lot nicer on the internet actually. but i’m only crude when its necessary. they people making fun of the overweight are just flat out jackasses and should be hung by their testicles over a cereal mixer xD
Only a little bit more.
I think I’m actually nicer online. o__O Because I take more time to think of what I’m typing.
If you caught me in real life, I’d probably snap off the first thing that came to mind, be in ‘nasty’ or not.
i don’t think I’m nasty in person or online…but online I can have a bit more “freedom of speech”
*HUGS*
Have a great night!
What you see is what you get, if I say it online rest assured would say it personally.
I’m just as nasty online than I am in real life >:D. Just that online, I can be nasty to people I don’t even know (only if they deserve it). Hah.
I am not, but I know that it is much easier for people to be.
not nastier just more braver. im pretty quiet in person and nicer but since im online and i can really let my true feelings out without having someone of value to me judge me on the spot. i hope i make some sense. its like i dont know you, i could care less about you since i dont see you. but once i see you in person i care. gah im weird
Actually, I think I’m nicer online.
Much more so. Most deserve it
I don’t get bitched at about my weight, perhaps because I will crush them with the mighty fists of thor. don’t fuck with a viking.
No, I’ve only ever been rude once & it was because the person stuck their nose where it didn’t belong & was mean & nasty to my niece. Don’t Mess with My Baby Girl!!!
No frickin way, I am really cordial on here but meet me in person and I can get a little mouthy
I would stay the same if someone annoys me in person I’ll snap at them if they’d do it online i wouldn’t snap as hard because you or they might not get the right tone
kAoS
I used to be.
I don’t really even talk to anyone on online like I used to anymore.
Hold up…she was 400 lbs and she had sex?! Did the dude have like a flashlight to find it under all that flab?
Yeah I think I’m more mean…well more blunt…well more honest then I am in person where I’m trying to be polite. Its easier to hurt someone’s feelings when you don’t know them.
def…
I don’t think so, I don’t see a reason to be “nastier” online than off. Whether it’s an online alias or watnot, it’s still you. In general, I don’t think I’m “nasty” to people at all. I wouldn’t want things like that said to me so vice versa.
Not nastier. More honest perhaps?
I have a tendency to be much kinder…the written word is powerful. Being mean is so common…
A little little bit. But that’s only because I don’t have to look the person in the eye, make me look someone in the eye, and I falter.
yeahhh I react certain ways like ppl that copy me in person I’d be a bit more forgiving but I’m also mean to those that are nasty to begin with
no, i’m pretty much a nice gal.
Me? I’m the sweetest…online and off.
this is of course. There have been psychological studies about this. I think there was a study where on Halloween they put an empty bucket of candy in front of their door, and had a sign that said take one. The kids that wore masks that covered their face usually took a lot more. When it’s anonymous, people don’t have to be responsible for their actions.
No… I tend to say whats on my mind all the time. I prefer to think of myself as “OUTSPOKEN”
honestly probably nicer…i can re-read my comments and re-think how they sound. when i talk i can’t rewind.
but the article in some ways danced around its own conclusion. it mentions that the comments probably would have been heard only by a small audience in earlier times but that with the technology of the internet more people can access the comments and be affected by them. they stated the truth themselves but pulled back from it, people are nasty to one another anyway. with the internet its just easier to be nasty to a large audience since on public sites anyone with the internet can view the responses. so no, most people probably aren’t nastier, they are just more widely heard.
Yes. I try to stay away from all-out catty online fights, but I know my comments can be a lot more blunt online. I’ve had a few people I subscribed to that I would occasionally leave really honest, blunt comments for like when they were asking for advice. I didn’t always say things the nicest way, and I didn’t shy away from calling them out on this or that. I probably would not do that in person, with a stranger or a friend. But here I can, b/c I don’t have to face the person, and if they get mad at me and block me it’s not a huge loss. I try no to be outright mean about it, but sometimes it’s been taken that way.
no, not i
depends on who I’m talking to.
I find I’m usually more insightful in text. I look back on my old posts and wonder where it all came from. Or maybe I still had a soul back then….
i’m actually NICER.
oh, and i bet DMV is a dick either way.
god, that guy cracks me up.
I try to be polite all the time but I do revel in a totally anonymous blog that let’s me say things…be more transparent, without fear of being judged. But never nasty~
i am the same. but that might have to do with the fact that i have my name in most of my screen neamss.
I think i’m actually nicer on the computer
I hope not! Of course, sometimes my Irish temper just flares. Then again, I hope I’m not NASTY. LOL!
People are jerks to strangers more readily over the Internet. There is little to no accountability. Sometimes I fall into that category.
No. This is pretty much who I am.
If anything, I’m more myself online because in my job I have to be so neutral and politically correct all the time.
no not necessarily nastier, but i dont talk much to strangers in person
I used to be way nastier. Now if I’m nasty, there’s actually a reason.
I am more honest……at least on this site. In forums like chat rooms, I always try to be kind to other people. Basically, I am non-confrontational.
I doubt it. I made a post about this on my blog a few weeks ago. The internet has become a room with no cameras. People do and say what they want with no fear of repercussion.
I don’t think I am more or less nasty online, I think it’s difficult to interpret tone over the internet and that is what causes some of the confusion.
If I’m going to be “nasty” I would more likely do it online
But I try to be nice as much as possible
I am abusive in person Therefore, I think I might actually be worse offline than I am online even though I make no attempt to be that way.
annakristine270 ditto
Judging from the huge readership some of the nastier/more racist and xenophobic people get, I’m thinking maybe I should be nastier online.
Nope – I just a nice person.
I’m actually nicer online because I have time to think and time to consider… and I can portray the person I would like to be rather than all the individual flaws that make up the person I am.
I’m not nasty to anyone really, online or not online. I seem to have a nasty personality however, because I curse a lot, and combine that with a heavy Boston accent.
However, when I write in my blog I am usually angry about something or another, so I swear a lot more there.
Not really. I don’t interact with people online as much as I used to for a couple of reasons.
I think that being able to speak anonymously might make people feel safe, and thus they tend to be nastier.
Although, without verbal tone and body language to accompany typed posts and comments, things can be interpreted as nasty when they weren’t meant to be as well.
Just depends on the people.
No, I’m as much a bitch in real life as I am online, although my site has become a great source of anger management for me. I tend to be more tasteful in life than online, with my three page rants.
yeah, probably
I’m pretty nasty at times in real life…
It depends who I’m talking to. Online I have more time to think about my answers to casual questions rather than instantly assume people are having a laugh at me. Although if I don’t like someone, I have more guts to say what I really think.
Definitely.
No, I’m a total prick either way.
I am seldomly mean unless necessary (if I am provoked). I do not go out seeking conflict and arguments with others in person or on the Internet. Sometimes I am more open online, but definitely not more mean.
I am seldomly mean unless necessary (if I am provoked). I do not go out seeking conflict and arguments with others in person or on the Internet. Sometimes I am more open online, but definitely not more mean.
I am who I am wherever I am.
Absolutely. I’m the nicest person in the world in person.
Nope.
Nah…not me. I have no reason to be nasty.
I am the way I am on and off line
I have a low tolerance for fucktardedness.
I’m not a mean person, on or offline, but I do say things online that I wouldn’t say otherwise.
I was raised if ya cannot say something nice then don’t say it at all…in general I am a pretty honest person…and my neices and nephews tell their presptive mates…don’t you dare get aunty mad…she has a way of getting even in public…lol…yeah…I don’t like to do something behind the back…I do it in front of all…Smile
Long time no see shithead. Looks like your posts are still complete garbage. But hey, one day you’ll figure out how not to suck.
By the way, I’d say this crap your face you banana ranching queff. It’s not an issue of being anonymous, it’s just telling dipshits like you that they fail at life.
i’m pretty much nasty all around. i don’t know why my name would change my thoughts.
I’ve been through enough bullshit in my life, if you don’t like what I have to say, don’t ask for my opinion. I’m honest to a fault, sometimes it’s nasty. I believe there are people on here who would never have the balls to say in person some of the things they say on here.
didnt know she was pregnant!? well see, now we have a problem.
with anonymity, i tell everyone i dont know my secrets. haaaa.
yes i do, but its always inside them to be nasty like that. even if they dont show it normally in real life.
i’m friendlier online. ha.
I’m more honest on the internet, I s’pose, because I have very sensitive friends, to whom if I said “You’re getting on my nerves” they would be offended and probably go cry.
I don’t think I’m nastier online, I’m just more myself, because people on the internet in some senses aren’t as discriminatory as people in real life.
But yeah, generally people get really nasty online, and it makes the internet not so much fun anymore.