Why anonymity and pseudonyms on the internet are so important

Anonymity and the use of pseudonyms on the internet has a bad reputation. It is seen merely as a cover for various forms of harassment. There have even been suggestions to entirely do away with it. Journalist Walter Isaacson is one person who argues for this. But this is a dangerous idea. Anonymity on the internet sometimes provides cover for harassment, but it also prevents it.

For this is a world full of cruelty and bigotry. Innocent people are regularly harassed, beaten or even killed for who they are or what they believe. The perpetrators have little need of hiding their identity and often commit acts of violence in broad daylight. They don't even hide their names online, as anyone who has used Facebook can attest to. But because of that violence and abuse, the victims often need to hide.

For them, the internet and the anonymity it provides is often the only way for them to talk to others about their experiences and thoughts without serious repercussions. It is not safe to be openly LGBT. Political dissidents in dictatorships can be punished for criticizing the government. Mental illness is still highly stigmatized and talking about having one is seen as shameful. Welfare bureaucracies often use posts on social media to deny disabled people their benefits  Workers have been fired by their employers or are never hired because of their social media posts. They are many, and who they are vary widely, but they all have a legitimate need for anonymity.

For them, an anonymous or pseudonymous social media presence is not cowardice, but a rational and prudent precaution. It frees them to talk openly about things that would be seriously punished in physical spaces. What they talk about can range from cathartic conversations about mental illness to serious political criticism of government and society to the joyous expression of their LGBT identities.

The suggestion that hiding one's legal name is necessarily an act of cowardly dishonesty is itself dishonest. On the contrary, doing so often enables honest self-expression. The name you give yourself online may even reveal more about yourself than your legal name.  For many trans people, the idea it would be more honest to use their "real" (i.e legal) name is a cruel joke.

To sneer at this reveals a privileged and ignorant mindset. It is the mindset of the rich, those who can say what they want without consequences. It is a viewpoint of wealthy bestseller authors like Isaacson mentioned above, "entrepreneurs" and columnists for major newspapers. The contempt they hold is ultimately that of the wealthy against the poor and disadvantaged.

It reeks of the "just-world fallacy". The people who hold it seems to believe that anyone who has something to hide out of fear of the consequences is necessarily hiding something bad. But that is not the case. Often people hide innocent things out of fear for being abused for it. And to deprive them of online anonymity is a cruel way to deny what is often their only way of express themselves.