VIRTUAL INTIMACY AND THE PARADOXES OF ANONYMITY

Abstract

The advent of the Internet and the myriad communication tools associated with it has opened up worlds of possibilities in the area of social interaction. There exists a wealth of literature both within and without the social sciences with regards to the effects that these technologies (collectively referred to as Computer-Mediated Communication or CMC) have on the collective and the individual. Prominent in this literature are three themes: i) CMC is inherently anonymous, ii) CMC allows for the development of intimacy between its users and iii) anonymity and intimacy are antithetical to each other. The perplexing contradiction between these three themes will be evaluated and addressed, with empirical focus on three "social applications": ICQ, LiveJournal and Friendster and with special attention paid to understanding the phenomenon of 'anonymity'.