The Loss Of Anonymity On The Internet
Everyday users share intimate personal details on their profiles with little regard to who their audience is. While it may have once been a community of one’s close friends, most now have hundreds of “friends” from every convention and party they have ever been to. Securing your details is more difficult than ever before. While users want to retain their connections in this online address book, they do not want every contact to know what they are doing. Facebook was born from an environment of openness and disregard toward privacy. From its facemash predecessor, the young CEO has always pushed for a more open system. In its college days it emphasized a “.edu” email requirement, which drew students to the service in masses. However, today, that level of security is nonexistent and does not seem to be coming any time in the future. One site called Openbook, allows users to search the status updates of Facebook profiles who’s privacy settings are set open. In “The Facebook Effect”, Zuckerberg’s view of privacy settings is referred to as a “stepping stone” toward complete openness.
Openness can be a good thing depending on what users share on Facebook. Some treat their wall as a public posting ground and only reveal trivial details, while others treat it as their private message board with details only meant for close friends. I believe that more users will start converting to a conservative approach in posts.
As it moves forward, users will need to fight to control their information on Facebook, it is however futile. I think that Zuckerberg wants this opening to happen, I do not doubt that in the future all profiles will become available to everybody. I believe it is Zuckerberg’s goal to transform the internet from an anonymous playground into something as identifiable as real life. You would be known everywhere online by your real name, real photo, and real thoughts. The “One Identity” approach mentioned in “The Facebook Effect” may seem scary to some, but at the same time could create a safer environment online. Users would no longer hide behind a veil on anonymity but instead only post and act as they would in real life.
This concept is hard to imagine, given that the popularity of the internet stemmed out of its anonymity, AIM screen names were always masked, online gamers always had obscure handles, and personal email addresses hardly ever told us much about a person. In the future, going to a website could be more like walking into a store with your driver’s license taped to your shirt. Hate speech and online bullying would reduce. While it can be argued that this openness could lead to safety concerns based on the information shared, this view fails to recognize that shift in browsing habits. Users will also adapt to a more restrained behavior. For the same reason we do not run around shouting out our home address and back account numbers in real life, we will cease from sharing certain information online. The internet will become an extension of real life, not a playground for alternate personas.

