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Show OPINIONS VOLUME LII . ISSUE 12 OCTOBER 31, 2011 WWW.UVUREVIEW.COM Identity crisis: how anonymity is destroying civility By Cameron Simek Opinions Writer I am a gamer, dealing with strangers online is something I experience daily. They hide behind their Gamertags or PSN ID' , spewing out as much ignorant hate as they can, just because you don't know who they are. But shielded enmity doesn't only occur between folks all riled up over a game of "Halo." The problematic elements of anonymity exist everywhere. You can hide behind an alias anywhere. In the Age of the Internet, you are very rarely required to be yourself. But, as we gain more and more anonymity, remember that we're in danger of proportionately losing accountability. Accountability prevents the world from sinking into a bleak pit of chaos and antisocial frenzy. Accountability is that little force that makes sure people aren't terrible to each other whenever they feel like it. It barely exists on the Internet, or on gaming consoles. It seems like it should exist strongly in person. However, due to increased dependence on social networking, being "in person" is becoming less and less of a requirement. Social networking is itself nothing more than a screen name. It's impossible to get to know someone, 140 characters at a time. You don't even have to be yourself on Facebook, You only have to be a facsimile of who you think people want you to be. Many groups and associations that champion the cause of anonymity deride networking sites for their general disregard of people's privacy. But Facebook only knows the things you allow it to know. It can only pass along what you send through it. You may think that you're being transparent by maintaining an active profile on a social networking site. But, in many cases what you're probably doing is showing the world what you like rather than what you are like. You're giving everyone a projection. A persona. Sure, the people with whom you interact on the social network of your choice know you. They recognize your face and your name and can put the two together. But they don't know you. They know the online version. You are therefore contributing to this new Era of Anonymity, whether you realize it or not. Recently I have noticed this attitude spreading in a very disconcerting manner beyond the Internet. Think about driving. Do you feel like you have the right to cut someone off in traffic because you're in a hurry? Maybe you really need to get home to take a nap, or you are late for work? At any rate, to your fellow motorists you're not accountable, because you are just "red Mazda" or "black Ford". In some respect, everyone takes advantage of his or her anonymity in this situation. It's easy to get away with it. Unless you cut off a cop, no one will ever catch you. This behavior can even occur in face-to-face interactions. Pay attention next time you go to a big box store. Walk by the customer service desk, it's the perfect example of how not knowing who someone is, is destroying civility. Customers, enraged by the fact that their product does not live up to their unrealistic expectations will channel the ire of Old Testament Jehovah and treat that poor soul behind the counter like some form of pestilence. They will deride them in ways too cruel to be believed. It is surprising to witness two people who are looking each other in the eyes but continue to treat each other as something less than human. Even this university isn't safe from this behavior. There are so many students enrolled that it becomes impossible to know anyone really well. This takes its toll on the professors more than the students, because they are expected to know and care about every student in their classes. Some students are lost in the shuffle — and it's not just those that sit in the back, in silence. They probably don't want to be known, anonymously creeping through four years of college. It's hard for the faculty to know these students, and why should even try. If you don't make yourself known, then why should you be known? How about those student council folks? The ones you imimmiwagenr, 16, 444,4040 Wi MI'! Getting sworn at by twelve-year-old boys would happen a lot less if Halo was played face-to-face without the anonymity of the internet. see every day, handing you popcorn, fliers and dancing to that obnoxiously loud music in the halls. Shouldn't everyone know them? Surely, there is no way they could be anonymous. But they are. They are because they are hyper-active on campus. Meeting too many new people every day, doing too much, can sometimes reduce a person to little more than a face with a fake smile plastered across it. That's no way to make it through four years or more of schooling. School is about learning things. Not necessarily just about the ins and outs of a prospective trade, or an algebraic formula — ideally, you're learning about yourself as well. The easiest way to do this is through interactions with others. But such interaction has become limited. Teachers try to start communication in the classrooms here, but how many people actually talk. It's probably the same five or ten that have been talking since their freshman year, the ones that want to be held accountable for their education. Everyone knows these go-getters and most people despise them immensely. I mean, it isn't hard to make fun of the kid everyone knows exists, as long as he doesn't realize that you exist also. I fear it's too late now to reverse this trend. The population is expanding exponentially. More people are being born every second to an almost Photo courtesy of stock adage completely ensured obscurity. Most of these people will likely fade into the background of this world. The only thing that can be done is to take a step back in social situations, and realize this simple fact. Those faces, the ones you see every day? There are genuine people behind them, with thoughts and feelings and memories and phobias and dreams and the works. You don't have to know them to know that they have an identity, an original experience. They aren't just an empty shell that merely exists. Treat them with the respect that every human being deserves. Don't allow others to hold you accountable when you're anonymous. Do it for yourself. The High Five with John-Ross Boyce five weird predictions for this coming November Great Caesar's Ghost! In the short two weeks that The UVU Review was on its autumnal hiatus, all kinds of uncanny/hilarious/apocalyptic/ generally amusing things occurred. A desperate man released 18 Bengal tigers, some grizzly bears and a whole mess of primates into the sleepy little hamlet of Zanesville, Ohio, just moments before putting a bullet in his head. Someone in Toronto discovered a python curled up all cozy in a toilet. Donald Trump, who thinks he is the most popular girl at the prom, except completely oblivious to the fact that everyone is laughing at his ridiculous coiffure, called the Occupy Wall Street movement "cool". Two boys were found locked in a dog kennel in North Platte, Nebraska. Charles Schwab, Freddie Mac, Google, Amazon and Facebook were all hit in some kind of cyberattack that didn't seem to do anything, seeing as how I've been screwing around on Google, Amazon and Facebook all day. Performance artist Marni Kotak gave birth to ahealthy boy named Ajax in a Brooklyn gallery. The good people at Guinness named Samuel L. Jackson, the Laurence Olivier of the F-word, the highest grossing movie actor of all time. Turkey got hit with a 7.2 earthquake and UVU Campus got a Pizza Hut. The Dow went up 400 points. There's a lot we could be talking about. But, like I said, The UVU Review has been on vacation. If you're interested in talking about any of the above events, you've probably already been talking about it while we were away. You read all the articles online and tweeted them to your friends and followers. It's okay. We happen to think that October 2011 was the beginning of a trend in which the weirdness escalates incrementally right up to Dec. 21, 2012 — which is when ancient Mayans, who didn't even have computers or telescopes or even phones, believed the world was going to end. So, here's what we think will be on the roster of uncanny events for November: Executives at Apple will use dead skin and hair follicles to clone the currently deceased Steve Jobs. They will fill in the gaps using the DNA of West African Frogs. The world will be absolutely rocked when a genetic test not only reveals that the clone is 99.9 percent similar to the original Jobs, but that it is pregnant. Life finds a way. The Christian Right will take to the streets in protest. What are they protesting? Kindergartner's drawings of the first Thanksgiving, which depict the Patuxet man Squanto teaching English settlers how to plant maize, instead of Jesus Christ just handing corn to a bunch of Puritans. Ted Haggard, former leader of the National Association of Evangelicals will reduce a 5-year-old girl to tears on "The O'Reilly Factor". The East Coast will experience a torrential rain of sea crustaceans inexplicably falling from the sky. A spontaneous bout of boogying will sweep across the nation when every morning drive-time radio show in the Midwest simultaneously plays "Rock Lobster" by the B-52's. The deafening noise of Fred Schneider's sung/ shouted vocals will be heard from as far away as the Azores. A human finger will be found in a McRib sandwich. In a move hailed as the greatest P.R. bamboozle in history, McDonald's will award the unlucky diner one million dollars in cash and declare the discovery of the severed digit as part of a nationwide contest. McRib sales will go through the roof. Morgan Spurlock, the documentarian behind "Super Size Me", will have a heart attack caused by uncontrollable rage. An unkempt man will begin healing the sick and lame in the streets of El Paso, Texas. Astonished doctors will confirm that the man has cured an entire leukemia ward with the sweep of his hand. Thousands upon thousands will flock to West Texas. On the morning of Nov. 29 the man will spontaneously disappear in front of a large crowd. Every Stop n' Go in the county will vanish into thin air at the same time. A curious cloud formation in the desert sky will read "So long, and thanks for all the cigarettes". CONTACT ■ OPINIONS EDITOR ASST. OPINIONS EDITOR OPINIONS DESIGNER ■ jrboyce@gmail.com felicialartey@gmail.com tjmendenhall@q.com JOHN-ROSS BOYCE FELICIA JOY TARALYN MENDENHALL |