For many users, the ability to engage in anonymous surfing online is highly desirable. It has a lot of advantages. For example, if you are anonymous online you don’t have any need to worry about experiencing any real life repercussions for your online activity.
This is particularly important for promoting freedom of speech especially if you live in a part of the world where the ability to express your opinion is very limited.
However, the right to be anonymous online is not something that is agreed upon. In fact, there have been strong debates in recent years throughout Western democracies about whether being anonymous online is a right that should be protected, or whether it is something that should be removed. A surprising number of people argue that the ability to be anonymous online results in people being mean and vicious online.
Forums are a really good example of this. A large number of people on forums participate in a behavior known as trolling, where they intentionally make their comments and replies to be as insulting and offensive as possible. The behavior of these individuals online creates real negative impacts for the people that are being targeted. Although it is only words, words can really hurt, especially when the person being targeted is sensitive.
In forums and most other online environments, people make use of pseudonyms, rather than divulging their real identities. Often, you do not even know the gender of the person that you are talking to, much less where they live or who they are. This ability to be anonymous is thought to make people much more bold in their interactions online, and they are more likely to be abusive as a consequence.
However, how realistic is this? People have always been mean to one another, and many people are as abrasive in person as they are online. Removing the ability to be anonymous online might make some people behave a little better online, but not most of them.
What would be the cost of removing potential to be engaged in anonymous surfing online? For starters, people who have no way to safely express an opinion that was controversial. In many places in the world, the expression of a controversial opinion can be dangerous and might result in you getting assaulted, arrested or even killed. Using an approach like a VPN can allow you to retain the right to be anonymous online.
>>> See the top rated anonymous surfing services
………
