Online disinhibition effect

See also: Penny Arcade § "Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory"

The online disinhibition effect refers to the lack of restraint one feels when communicating online in comparison to communicating in-person.[1] People tend to feel safer saying things online that they would not say in real life because they have the ability to remain completely anonymous and invisible when on particular websites, and as a result, free from potential consequences.[2] Apart from anonymity, other factors such as asynchronous communication, empathy deficit, or individual personality and cultural factors also contribute to online disinhibition.[3][4] The manifestations of such an effect could be in both positive and negative directions; thus, online disinhibition could be classified as either benign disinhibition or toxic disinhibition.[1]

  1. ^ a b Suler, John (June 2004). "The Online Disinhibition Effect". CyberPsychology & Behavior. 7 (3): 321–326. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.514.4718. doi:10.1089/1094931041291295. PMID 15257832.
  2. ^ Lapidot-Lefler, Noam; Barak, Azy (March 2012). "Effects of anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eye-contact on toxic online disinhibition". Computers in Human Behavior. 28 (2): 434–443. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.10.014.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Psychology and the internet : intrapersonal, interpersonal, and transpersonal implications. Gackenbach, Jayne, 1946- (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier/Academic Press. 2007. ISBN 9780080469058. OCLC 162573099.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)