Keyboard-Warrior phenomenon

Reference: Keyboard Warrior by Jon Candy (CC BY 2.0)

As I said in the last few posts, most of the online identities are way more different to the reality identities. 'Keyboard Warrior' (Chi Z, Urban Dictionary, 2006) is the urban way to describe it, means to use keyboard as a weapon to attack others or defend their-selves. Most of them are introvert person in reality (no offence, you can see that on internet), but when they step in the internet, they unleash from the reality and change their identities in to online identities. This phenomenon has a scientific name called "Online disinhibition effect" (Suler J, Psychology of digital age, 2004). It is different to have conversation with people in reality, people on internet feel unleashed and freedom, become unscrupulous and ignore most of the social ethics. The factors that cause this phenomenon are anonymity of the internet, the sense of hidden from someone else, the sense of thought withdrawal and a avatar that does not match the reality of the self. All these facts is to produce a self-centered psychological projection in the network communication (A psychological defense mechanism to fetch up for the reality of their own lack). For myself, I do think I have different identities on internet, even on different platforms. On whatsapp (A message app), I act as myself in the reality because all the contact in it are well known to me, they know who am I and how I live in the reality. On the online forum, I use to comment people and satirize them by using some memes and salt. On the online gaming platform, I love judging people because I have power and rights in it, online friends love me and admire me, in my opinion I am just acting as a figure that they want me to be. Overall, my identity just like split in to 4 or even 5 personalities while participate on different platforms. It is not bad, but not good at all.

Related tweets of mine (Is there a real you?)

Reference:

Chi, Z. ,2006, Keyboard Warrior. Urban Dictionary. retrieved 4 Apr http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Keyboard%20Warrior

Suler J, 2004, Psychology of digital age, Cambridge University Press

#ALC203 #onlineidentities #digitalmedia #keyboardwarrior