Why do we drift towards pseudonyms?

Pseudonyms are a warm safety blanket, a golden invisibility cloak. An uncharted nebula of space encrypted in zeroes and ones, where I can explore who I am/who I’d like to be with no repercussions.

HOLD.. Things are getting too deep and I’ve barely begun. You may be wondering… what the fuck am I talking about? How did I get here?

Well, Ysabel Gerrard’s interview about “Being Sad on the Internet” has really got me thinking. Gerrard talks about how adults push back against social media because they see it destroying childrens’ mental health.

(Noooo!! That’s me if I gave a fuck, but girl-)

Sorry! Getting carried away.

In all seriousness, I can see how some parents could see it that way. It really depends on what content your kid is engaging with, and if you’ve fostered an environment where your child feels empowered to confide in you when they need support.

In the interview, Gerrard establishes that harmful content is extremely dependent on context. Social media platforms are too large in scope to regulate everything that is posted. As such, blanket hashtag bans normally miss things, and damaging content persists.

As nice as it would be to shelter kids from harmful content, it’s honestly impossible. It’s better to equip them with tools to face that content in a healthy, productive way. Denying the existence of that media altogether will just set them up for failure when they inevitably interact with it.

*I’m talking harassment, fake blackmail, police violence, discrimination, all the things.

Of course, we can’t control what will appear next on our “For You” pages. We can, however, control how we interact with the media from there. And I fully believe that our well-being depends on how we’ve been raised to maneuver social media platforms, rather than the platforms themselves.

As the interview describes, it’s easy for adults to neglect the positive or life-saving benefits of the internet. Gerrard explains that the digital turn has opened anonymous space for teens to talk about depression and queerness, cultivating positive outcomes.

This is how I feel when I think EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT ME (no one is looking at me). Uploaded to Pinterest by Leevar Spies.

She also says that young people are turning more and more to pseudonyms. Likely, it’s because they don’t feel safe to talk about mental health, race, or sexuality in their real-life social circles.

I am so for pseudonyms. I think that pseudonyms allow us to explore aspects of our identity without it complicating the way we’re perceived in real life. For some, the idea of saying “I think I’m gay,” or “I think I’m depressed” out loud, is just too terrifying. What will people say? How will they react?

To me, online anonymity opens the doors for teenagers to explore identity. We can come to terms with shitty experiences by confiding in others and explore special interests without fear of judgment (*sigh* yes, stan twitter- you’re okay sometimes…).

BUT, there’s an interesting dichotomy to be discovered if we look at the internet as a ‘void-like’ space for people to explore their identity. On one hand, it is fantastic to engage in communities that appeal to your interests and help you become confident in who you are.

On another, does this open a floodgate to allow people to bask in self-indulgent, discriminatory behaviours without facing consequences? I’m thinking of people who’ve found assurance through neoNazi chatboards or alpha-male groups preaching sex trafficking (hiiii Andrew Tate, looking at you).

This is SO MeOnTwitterTalkingAboutHyperfixations-coded!!! Photo from 'MyModernMet.'

THEN that brings me to, like, which communities are appropriate for social media? Who can be the morality police? To what extent is it a platform’s responsibility to regulate what communities discuss?

GOD, the internet is hard.

Overall, I think Gerrard got it right when she called the internet a massive balancing act, stressing that context matters. It’s important we examine how kids’ real life positionalities may impact how they use the internet- for better or worse. Whether we’re talking moderation or pseudonyms, it’s clear that digital literacy is all about nuance.