Twitter
anonymity is a serious rising problem; people from all over the world are
creating accounts simply to criticize other users, most commonly
celebrities.
Despite
the creators of Twitter doing everything they can to suspend these troublesome accounts,
the problem of 'twitter trolls' as they have been nicknamed, is still a very
current issue.
Whether
the trolls dislike a celebrity, or are set out to judge them after a scandal
doesn't matter. However, the fact that some people are pushed to closing their
accounts because of the anonymous users does matter – no one, no matter what they've done, should be bullied and ridiculed to the point of deleting their
account, especially by people they have never met.
So,
what do I mean by 'Twitter anonymity'?
I think the basic definition of
Twitter anonymity is using the Internet to disguise yourself, giving out little
information about your identity in order to abuse other users, without being
caught, simply because no one knows who you are.
That’s the beauty of it; your true
identity is, if you’re careful, never fully revealed. The victim doesn’t know
who it is that’s sending the messages, and therefore can’t go about tracking
down the anon, with no location or real name to assist. The effects of Twitter
trolling can be minor, but can also be very serious; trolling can lead to the
closing of accounts, upset amongst any fans of a particular celebrity, and
depending on the type of message, offending a lot of people. Many Twitter anons
are racist, aiming their rude comments at those of different races and
religion. Others are judgmental of someone’s background, or critique their
style choices.
This is another reason why Twitter
trolling is so common; there is a huge range of things to pick on, and it
really needs to be stopped. People are being affected by it every day, whether
they’re plastered all over magazines or someone you might bump into on the
street. My point is, anyone can pick on anyone, and it’s really unjust.
To become a Twitter user, you need to
give in hardly any personal information, and the majority can be fake; name,
age, location. This is what makes it so easy. People also use Twitter to spam
others, advertising false websites that are potentially dangerous.
To solve this problem, I think
Twitter, along with other websites, should increase the amount of correct information they require for a
user to sign up, but keep it private so the personal information is not
released to the public. They should also encourage existing users to report
anyone they suspect to be fake or using false information, and investigate the
reported accounts. It may take work and dedication, but if it can reduce
Twitter anonymity, I think using Twitter will be much more pleasant for many
people.
