The Internet: An Outlet for Anonymity

Comment sections attached to media on the internet are a common things today. Any video, article, or gallery is linked with the ability to voice your opinion. In theory this makes a ton of sense as the internet has become the ultimate medium to share information but in practice there are a lot of problems associated with allowed people to write without any accountability. Criticism on the internet is almost always childish and positive feedback is hard to come by. The New Yorker published a blog about the subject here. In the blog the point is raised that many intelligent comments would be lost if anonymity was removed from comments because with anonymity " participation and risk-taking flourish." It's a shame because the internet isn't looked at as a form for civil discourse when it really could be the perfect platform to have edifying arguments.

"As the age of a user decreases, his reluctance to link a real name with an online remark increases.(New Yorker)." As a class we have discussed the appropriate way to structure an argument with a claim and the necessary evidence to support it but with younger users many simply do not understand an outrageous claim from a grounded, logical claim. There is no moderator guiding the messy thoughts that are blurted through the comment section. With no link between a disjointed thought and them, people simply don't care. They feel empowered by the ability to assert themselves with a bullheaded comment but don't endure any repercussions. 

Simply removing comments is not the answer either, when used intelligently they genuinely add to the experience. Again our class is a great example of this; if we couldn't exchange ideas in a discussion format, we couldn't expose ourselves to unique outlooks on topics. It appears that the problem is in the physiology of anonymous comment with too little blow-back for "trolls" on the internet. Yet the benefit of comments in how a subject is viewed is too good to ban them. If people could encourage grounded claims and though out arguments perhaps the bulk of ignorant comments would dissolve after many of the attention seekers become bored. Otherwise the comment section will remain littered with hate.