Online Collectivism, Individualism and Anonymity in East Asia

Abstract

Anonymity on the internet has come under increasing criticism as a threat to public civility and safety. This article draws data from related academic studies, trade press and mass media to examine recent variations in the salience, use, and comparative value of anonymity, and its tripartite relationship with individuality and collectivism, across three specific cultural contexts: China, South Korea, and Japan. While online anonymity in East Asia plays a role in affiliation and in acts of collective cognition, it is also valued as an individual privacy resource. We must be especially wary about assuming social systems might be better off, more secure, without it.