I propose a new law:
All internet users must use their full name as their username for all websites, and on top of that, for their profile picture or avatar, they must use an actual picture of themselves.
I have my fingers crossed that Obama will pass it soon.
…
Internet anonymity is such a sham… if you don’t want a future employer or important other to find dirt about you on the internet, then don’t let it get there in the first place.
Through the veils of monikers, internet users are able to spew diatribes and masquerade an alter ego, all without ever revealing their true selfs.
This disconnect from the self, while therapeutic for some, makes the internet a place akin to Bizarro World… a far divide from the actual world we live in.
I think that the internet would become a lot more “normal” if more people simply used their real name and actual picture instead of some appellation and fictitious avatar for the websites they frequent.
Psychologically speaking, using a handle and avatar allows the user to lose their sense of self… it allows them to assume a new personality and toss the moral fibres they were raised with.
That’s why you see people say and do things on the internet they would never otherwise do in real life… they have have lost their self-awareness and act in a more primordial manner.
After running a website with a lot of teenage male users for over a year now, I’ve noticed that nearly every troublesome user I’ve dealt with was someone who assumed a pen-name… what a coincidence.
Stay real.
-Adam
