It's well known that people say and do things in cyberspace that they
wouldn't ordinarily say or do in the face-to-face world. They loosen up,
feel more uninhibited, express themselves more openly. Researchers call
this the "disinhibition effect." It's a double-edged sword. Sometimes
people share very personal things about themselves. They reveal secret
emotions, fears, wishes. Or they show unusual acts of kindness and
generosity. We may call this /benign disinhibition/.
On the other hand, the disinhibition effect may not be so benign. Out
spills rude language and harsh criticisms, anger, hatred, even threats.
Or people explore the dark underworld of the internet, places of
pornography and violence, places they would never visit in the real
world. We might call this /toxic disinhibition/.
http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/disinhibit.html
You Don't Know Me (dissociative anonymity)
You Can't See Me (invisibility)
See You Later (asynchronicity)
It's All in My Head (solipsistic introjection)
It's Just a Game (dissociative imagination)
We're Equals (minimizing authority)
<http://www-usr.rider.edu/%7Esuler/psycyber/disinhibit.html#anonymity>
An earlier hard copy version of this article was published as: Suler, J.
(2004). _CyberPsychology and Behavior_, 7, 321-326
