Op-Ed: The Anonymous Advanatage

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The mask is the single most powerful object known to mankind. It affords its user great powers and the greatest of them all is anonymity.

Your Identity is your most precious secret and while hiding under the mask of anonymity the only part of your identity available is the part you can clearly show on the Internet, your mind.

Cyberbullying is the form of antagonism du jour, and has been greatly employed by many on the Internet who have lost their connection with the humanity on the other end of the keyboard.

The current Internet culture is mostly being embraced by teens and young adults who have made cyberspace part of their identity. The cloak of anonymity has given teenage schoolyard bullies a whole new set of weapons to commit their savage acts of targeted disdain without the fear of repercussions.

"The anonymity provided by new technology limits a victim from responding in a way that may ordinarily stop a peer's aggressive behavior or influence the probability of future acts, which provides an advantage to the perpetrator," the CDC's Corinne David-Ferdon and Marci Feldman Hertz wrote.

Megan Meier was one teen on the receiving end of cyber-harassment. The 13 year old was duped into believing that a former friend's mother was a 16 year old boy who had a crush on her. The already psychologically fragile girl was on anti-depressants. After building up her hopes, her former friend on the myspace screen name of her mother's design, ridiculed Megan along with a group of others. Some of the last words Megan saw on the monitor were, "the world would be better off without you." Her parents found her hanging from a support beam in her closet, a belt as a noose.

The laws two Missouri state cities have enacted were too late to save her, but not too late to come to the aide of the woman who orchestrated the hoax that lead to Megan's untimely death.

Suicide is not the only method being used to put an end to the agony teenagers face from cyber-bullies. The Journal for Adolescent Health and the CDC have found connection between cyberbullying and the physical outlash that has driven fear into the hearts of parents.

With a significant increase of children ages 10-17 reporting they are the victims of cyberbullying, a trend that has risen from 6%in 2000 to 9% in 2005, anti-social behavior has also risen.

"Youth harassed online were significantly more likely to also report two or more detentions or suspensions, and skipping school in the previous year," Michele Ybarra and colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore reported in another study in the journal.

"Especially concerning, youth who reported being targeted by Internet harassment were eight times more likely than all other youth to concurrently report carrying a weapon to school in the past 30 days," added Ybarra's team, who interviewed 1,500 10- to 15-year-olds.

This information makes a stanza from "Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance make more sense.

"The boys and girls in the clique
The awful names that they stick
You're never gonna fit in much, kid
But if you're troubled and hurt
What you got under your shirt
Will make them pay for the things that they did."

Cyber Harassment is not only limited to the youth, after all most bullies learn their behavior from the home. Many adults engaged in activities on the Internet have been known to harass individuals ad nauseum. Adult cyber bullies get the same jollies as their youthful counterparts, power through anonymity. The major difference is in the purpose behind the actions driven by the lack of self esteem or self worth. These types want Internet attention. Most adult cyber bullies are attention whores with little to no dignity left. They are adults who find themselves without merit or respect in their natural environment and seek acceptance online.

Many a comedy parody has been made on adult bullies who troll around looking for fights or vindication for their inability to function in normal society. One of the best comedy sites is Flame Warriors. Here you will find a list of characters with illustrations that match the personalities of all types who routinely debate on the Internet.

For example:

Blowhard feels the need to present his credentials before entering the fray - even if they are irrelevant to the discussion. For example, in a movie forum conflict he might attempt to settle the matter by saying, "As a Ph. D. candidate in particle physics I believe I can say with some authority that the 'Beavis and Butthead' movie represents the emergence of a new cultural paradigm." Huh?

For Ego, the discussion forum is all about him, and he regards discussions that stray from that topic as trivial dalliances. Although tolerant of an occasional shift in focus, Ego grows increasingly restive when the forum's attention shifts away from his interests, and he will often provoke conflict to reestablish himself as the subject at hand. Ego is one the the fiercest of all the Warriors and will fight to the death when attacked.

Although sometimes a male, Crybaby is usually a female, and often a close ally of Innocence Abused. When teased or attacked Crybaby will pitch a loud public temper tantrum, holding her breath and kicking her feet. If that defense fails she will run to Nanny for comfort.

Despite the hilarity of these perceptions there are truth to them. The Flame War is found on almost any forum on the Internet and can be the source of endless fun for those witted enough to not take the opinions of a mask seriously. However, they can become quite serious in the work place.

The Internet is not only a playground but has become a source of income for those brave enough to enter its clutches. When the source of income is threatened by the flame wars it takes on a real world dilemma. Unlike solid work places, the cyber work place has little to no laws governing the behavior found within its midst. The Internet by virtue of what it is, is more often than not considered international territory. Libel, Slander, Stalking, Harassment of any kind, these are all found in the telecommute workplace. Proving who is behind attacks generated online seems to be the source of frustration justice is feeling when dealing in cyber crimes.

The advantage of anonymity has given a new dynamic to the darkness of the human soul that we see for display on the internet. Time can only tell if more laws will be passed regulating Internet behavior and to stem the tide of a new and harassing culture.

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