Anonymity in Virtual Reality

For better or for worse, anonymity is a fundamental part of surfing the web. Whether we’re posting on forums or online dating, our personas are carefully — and deliberately — crafted.

The trans boy with hostile parents can be himself on the internet, never being labelled by his physical appearance. The veteran from an ancient conflict can learn about the culture he fought, seeing for himself what the next generation is building. The small town girl with the freckled cheeks can contribute to scientific commentary, not once told she’s too young (or too female) to know what she’s talking about.

But so, too, the angry young man with a chip on his shoulder can attack from the shadows. The voice that should have gone raw from screaming can never really be silenced. The joke that would never be told in a crowded room sees the light, and is shared, and shared again.

We build a series of masks, and inside those masks we operate in a fundamentally different way than we do inside our own skins. We are bolder. We are less afraid. We speak our truth for good or ill, and we do what we can to avoid the ugly truths of other people. This is more than an important part of the internet — it once defined every single interaction we had on it.

But which of these trends will virtual reality follow? In a world where half the adventure is that you can become anyone you want, will we force people to be themselves?

No matter what decision we make, it’s one that should be made both intelligently and consciously, by the community. Because harassment is too serious to ignore. And the power of self-invention is too precious to toss away.

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