▲ Nobody knows who you are on the InternetWhat is something we immediately gain as soon as we enter life? Identity. It is what makes us who we are and gives us a sense of individuality. In reality, we are just who we are. We are the children of our parents, students of our teachers, brothers, and sisters of our siblings. We can never fake our identity. However, in the world of the Internet, we can transform into any persona we want by going anonymous.
On the bright side, anonymity helps to expand the excess to freedom. In real life, people are expected to fit into social norms. Since everyone's identity is revealed to the public, people are constantly exposed to judgment and observation. Online, however, everyone puts on a mask called "the Internet". There are no judging eyes of people, nor are we being observed. People are finally in their comfort zone when they are alone by themselves. This enables us to be honest with ourselves and allows us to open up online, which brings out our genuine self. The quietest person can become the most expressive person, and the most awkward person can become the funniest person.
▲ Malicious comments are deadlier than weapons
However, you don't know what happens behind closed doors. When used correctly, anonymity creates a safe nest for our identity. When it is misused, it destroys others’ nests. On October 14th, actress and ex K-Pop star Sulli was found dead in her own house. There was no sign of homicide, meaning that she committed suicide. People immediately realized the reason behind her final decision - malicious comments. Starting from her debut in the K-Pop group f(x), Sulli received so many malicious comments. Cyberbullies pointed out every little flaw that they could find: her face, physique, personality and even her private life. Regarding her relationship with rapper Choi Za, people mocked about it in every way possible, even sexually harassing her by comments. Despite all the backlashes, Sulli wasn’t afraid to express her thoughts about social issues, especially online abuse. Through her Instagram live stream, she asked people to stop sending her threats and malicious comments, even breaking down in the middle of the live stream. However, her brave acts infuriated the commenters, who called her “rude” and an “attention seeker”. Eventually, her depression got worse by an overwhelming amount of malicious comments, which seemingly pushed her to the final decision. Although the reason behind her death is suicide, many consider the death as homicide - a social homicide, committed by all the malicious commenters and internet trolls.
Anonymity certainly created a comfort zone for us to relax in our true, desired self. However, too much dependence on anonymity leads to irresponsible actions. The issue of anonymity is not black and white, it rather lies in the gray area.
By Soo Min Ko
