Anonymous Behavior in Virtual Environments
Behavior in the real world is guided by societal norms and enforced laws. Because of the unique nature of virtual environments in that people are able to construct, change, and duplicate their own online identities rapidly. Because these identities manifest themselves through virtual representations of actual individuals that may not reflect the actual identities of the individuals, it is difficult to trace online representations of individuals back to the actual people controlling them. This makes it difficult to identify individuals and hold them accountable for their actions in virtual environments.
Contents
Causes and Reasons for Anonymity
Anonymity has historically been a protective veil for those who wish to express their opinions when doing so under normal circumstances isn't possible or carries the risk of harm [1] such as the members of Project Chanology who wear masks to conceal their identities in order to protect themselves from personal harm or anti-war protesters who use anonymity to express a unified opinion.
Anonymity is also a shield for those who work on the opposite end of the moral spectrum. Before the widespread use of caller ID, prank calling people was an easy task to accomplish with little worry that the victim would ever know who the caller was. Although today it is significantly more difficult to make anonymous prank calls, it is still possible through venues such as public telephones or pre-paid phone cards. Identity theft is a crime in which the perpetrator often isn't easily identifiable, which allows him/her to act anonymously with the information he/she stole from the victim.
Real world examples of anonymity, while allowing those under the veil to act differently than those who aren't, still maintain the risk of physical confrontation and identity revealing. In a virtual environment, however, these risks are often absent, leaving people to interact freely, anonymously and without fear of repercussions. It's this freedom that allows people to behave in ways they wouldn't otherwise because of this ability.
The Freedom of Virtual Environments
A virtual environment can be anything from a monochrome text console to an entire galaxy of civilizations. Virtual environments attract people for a variety of reasons, including an escape from reality, a chance to travel somewhere new or unreachable, or even just to socialize with others. People aren't likely to use virtual worlds if there are strong disincentives [2] and not every world will cater to every individual. With this in mind, it is necessary to determine the target demographic before beginning construction of a virtual world in order to maximize the efficiency and use of that world [3].
Some virtual environments are shipped pre-built, such as World of Warcraft, and some are built on demand, such as Garry's Mod. Players in a pre-built environment may not feel a sense of connection since they have no part in shaping it, whereas in a sandbox environment players create the world as they see fit so they are its designers as well as its users. On the other hand, a virtual environment pieced together by the random input of a small community is not necessarily guaranteed to be as completely functional and thoroughly designed as an environment built by the hands of paid professionals. The interpretation of the realism of a virtual environment can also influence the behavior of its users. Virtual environments should be designed around following some basic rules such as gravity, chronological continuity, and static environments that can't wildly and randomly change [4]. If the world cannot be expected to remain sane, then why would its users?
The Faceless and Guiltless
Social norms in virtual worlds are influenced by their users, the representations of the users, and even the worlds themselves [5]. With that in mind, behavior in virtual environments can easily be predicted based on the environment in which the most involved users interact. If a model railroading community is designed to realistically operate virtual trains in a multi-user environment then it can be reasonably assumed that dedicated members of the community won't purposefully drive recklessly, crash into others, or leave trains blocking the main line. However, the behavior of new members with little time invested or those who joined randomly can't be predicted.
What digital communication has over face to face communication is a perceived buffer and thus the perceived effects of discrimination and harassment are lessened in the eyes of the aggressor. Electronic harassment is unique from traditional harassment because aggressors are removed from their victims and from the impact of their actions [6]. Removal from the victim is fundamental for creating the distinctive dynamic that makes online harassment unique. In traditional harassment these aggressors must deal with the immediate effects of their actions. When anonymous, or behind a barrier it is much easier for antagonists to antagonize with no remorse.
Demonstrating Social Names Interactively
In the multiplayer video game The Sims Online (TSO) people were given the ability to create avatars which they used to interact with others in the Sims environment. Goals of the game included building and decorating houses, creating social networks, improving character statistics, and others. Due to its interactive nature, social norms played a large part in shaping the community and even though the wide variety of body and facial expressions used in the real world were limited in TSO, people still found ways to express themselves [7].
Social Behavior in the Non-virtual World
Deindividuation is a psychology term coined by Leon Festinger that refers to a situation where peoples' individual behaviors and actions can't easily be separated and solely attributed to any particular individual's motives due to the impact of their surrounding environment (i.e., stadium crowds, Mardi Gras, riots, etc). A person in a state of deindividuation is almost guaranteed to be freed from social and judicial restraints because his or her actions can't easily be linked to himself or herself. The guards in The Stanford Prison Experiment led by psychology professor Phillip Zimbardo were randomly assigned to their roles, but deindividuation changed them from simple college students into aggressive and relentless dictators. The students were not held responsible for their actions because it was assumed that such actions were appropriate for the duration of the experiment. Because the students became so intertwined with their roles that their actions and behaviors were threatening to cause long-lasting damage, Zimbardo decided to end the experiment early. As said by Tommy Lee Jones in the movie Men in Black, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."
Escaping Punishment Virtually
In the case of the World of Warcraft Funeral Crashers video an assortment of people grouped together to intentionally grief the members of a virtual funeral. The incident sparked debate from both sides, some suggesting that the game's mechanics weren't broken and the griefers' actions were valid given that the particular server in which the event occurred encouraged player versus player confrontations, and others suggesting that the sanctity of the funeral should have been respected in light of its seriousness and that the griefers went out of their way to cause harm. In this situation, two sets of conflicting social norms clashed with each other: one set designed to interact with civility and rationality during a formal event and the other designed to have fun "crashing a party" with others. The comment at the end of the video made by the griefers even says, "Sorry for your loss. Yes, we know we are assholes :D".
See Also
- Avatar
- Banality of Simulated Evil
- Cheating
- Griefing
- Kathleen Wallace
- Online Cheating
- Online Identity
- Punishments in Virtual Environments
- Virtual Environment
Citations and References
- Wallace 2008, p.179
- Bartle 2003, p. 129
- Bartle 2003, p. 126
- Castronova 2005, p.81
- Martey 2007, p.317
- Martey 2007, p.318
- Bartle, R. A. 2003. "Designing Virtual Worlds", New Riders Publishing
- Castronova, E. 2005. "Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games", The University of Chicago Press
- Martey, R. M. & Stromer-Galley, J. 2007. "The Digital Dollhouse: Context and Social Norms in The Sims Online", Sage Publications]
- Raskauskas, J. (2007). Involvement in traditional and electronic bullying among adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 43(3), 564-575.
- Wallace, K. A. 2008. "Online Anonymity",The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics, John Wiley & Sons
