Redefining privacy and anonymity through social networking affordances

Authors

  • Angela M. Cirucci Temple University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v20i7.5465

Keywords:

anonymity, privacy, affordances, Facebook, social media, social networking sites,

Abstract

Social networking sites allow people to create, broadcast, and interpret the self in new and evolving ways. While early online social media studies praised the Internet for providing an anonymous space in which to experiment with identity, more recent research suggests that social networking sites have become not anonymous, as they compel users to perform identity in new ways. Through a novel application of affordance theory, this paper argues that instead of attempting to apply outdated definitions of privacy to social networking spaces, we should instead be discussing our right to anonymity. I argue that privacy is immaterial due to the fact that from the moment we log in and interact with a social media interface, we have shared some type of personal information with someone. Anonymity, on the other hand, is defined as the unlinkability of our many identifications. Thus, instead of attempting to define ideas such as “personal” and “private,” we should instead fight for the separation of selves, both at the social and institutional level.

Author Biography

Angela M. Cirucci, Temple University

Angela M. Cirucci received her Ph.D. from the School of Media and Communication at Temple University and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University’s Digital Scholarship Center. As of Fall 2015, she will be Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Kutztown University. Angela’s research explores social networking sites and the ways in which their structures and affordances influence identifications. She is particularly interested in Facebook’s influence on authenticity, agency, and anonymity. Angela has presented her research at many conferences including the International Communication Association, National Communication Association, and Media Ecology Association, where she was awarded the 2012 Linda Elson Top Student Paper for her “First Person Paparazzi.†For more information visit her website: www.angelacirucci.com

Downloads

Published

2015-06-26

How to Cite

Cirucci, A. M. (2015). Redefining privacy and anonymity through social networking affordances. First Monday, 20(7). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v20i7.5465