http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_disinhibition_effect
In the blogpost by Danah Boyd, she clarifies a phrase previously used in an essay of hers. Boyd had crafted a phrase of her own called, “super publics” in order to further support her theoretical topics. Boyd first defines the ever-shifting coherency of “publics”, whether it be referenced as an adjective or a entity where you can visit. The traditional, physical boundaries of intertwined publics in real life is clear, but Boyd points out that in the digital life, publics become “really screwed up”.
The digital structure of a public that can be accessed online collapses the traditional factors of a IRL public. Thus, Boyd felt it necessary to construct the phrase, “super public” to differentiate these online publics from physical ones. She begs to ask theoretical and hypothetical questions about the social consequences in a “super public”. Towards the end of her post, she takes sides with the kids of today who are considered to be shamelessly exposing themselves on the Internet. Boyd instead blames those who partake in this “paparazzi” culture that she describes, where those who attempt to hide from the super public eye are victimized. Through this construction of “super publics”, Boyd seeks to understand the behaviors people engage in while communicating within these super publics.
It was an interesting blog post so I lingered on the page a little longer and read the comments from various users. One particular comment caught my attention which was from a user named Andreas who wrote, “Ah. Yet another variation of the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.” This curious mouthful was a hyperlink so I followed it until I reached a Wikipedia page called Online Disinhibition Effect. Apparently the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory, which blames online factors like anonymity to turn users into antisocial psychopaths, derived from this “online disinhibition effect” theory. Mind you the disclaimer at the top of the page warning about the lack of citations and possibility of original research. Still, this so-called effect was an interesting read that raised some of the topics we went over these past weeks including cyber-bullying.