The Paradox of Computer-Mediated Communication and Identity: Peril, Promise and Second Life

The Paradoxical Nature Of Cmc Characteristics

The many advantages and disadvantages characteristic of the CMC process create the unique paradoxical nature of the Internet (Joinson, 2005). The same CMC characteristics that comprise CMC’s advantages – the perception of anonymity, the ability to communicate efficiently across time and geographical distance, the chance to experiment with self-presentation and identity – also pose the greatest risks to CMC users.

One key feature that distinguishes CMC from FtF is anonymity, or the inability to confirm through visual cues the identity of the person(s) with whom users communicate via CMC (Gurak, 2001). The paradox lies in the fact that the perception of anonymity can free users to share their honest opinions without the fear of retribution (Joinson, 1999, 2001; McKenna, Green, & Gleason, 2002), but can also allow users to deceive (Joinson & Dietz-Uhler, 2002), harass (Barak, 2005), or mistreat others without fearing reprisal. For online predators, the anonymity of CMC offers a new, expansive hunting ground (Denegri-Knott & Taylor, 2005), leading to aversive interpersonal behaviors such as cybercheating (Joinson, 2005; Whitty, 2005), cyberstalking (Joseph, 2003), cyberteasing (Madlock & Westerman, 2009), and cyberbullying (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008; Li, 2006; Patchin & Hinduja, 2006; Smith, et al., 2008).