Say goodbye to anonymity, as YouTube rolls out its mandate forcing users to link their accounts with the dead-on-arrival Google+ and use their full names.
It’s one thing to be connected with a social network that nobody has even given a thought about using since its initial boom (and then bust), but should having a social profile be considered mandatory from now on?
YouTube seems to think this was a necessary move to remove the infamous “trolling” in its comments section. For example, you can’t watch a cover of a popular song without seeing a nasty comment on the performer’s facial features or lack of talent.
People love the escapism that the Internet provides at the end of their day, but on websites as popular as YouTube where they're able to freely express their creativity, the level of abuse has reached a breaking point. This change is a good one.
Earlier this year, websites that depend on user interaction and interest, such as TechCrunch, brought back an anonymous comment system. They needed their idiots back.
With anonymity, any argument, whether it’s about race, sexuality or another controversial topic, takes place behind a computer screen. People can log off and forget about it for the day, experiencing few, if any, repercussions. But when you start removing the usernames and replace them with an actual name, people start to get hesitant about making cruel comments and think more about what they say. As intrusive it may be to privacy, it’s the price we pay for those that ruined it for us by being rude on the Internet, and it comes at the cost of sterility and tameness for websites.
I wouldn’t prefer my social profile to follow me everywhere.
I like that websites such as Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram present the public profiles as an option rather than a rule, allowing users to hide their activity unless they have approved a request to follow.
It’s allows a certain degree of freedom, much like an author using a pseudonym. After all, behind every Dr. Seuss, Banksy or Heisenberg, there may just be a normal person, living alone and working at a boring office job — but do we really need to know that?
Facebook has seen many similar issues, including a constant struggle with cyberbullying, even though most users do in fact sign up with their real personal information.
YouTube’s actions won’t completely solve the problem of mean, anonymous trolls. This is the price we pay for interacting from behind a computer screen.
Reach the columnist at vqngyue1@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @taequangdoh.
