With the continuous debate over the dangers and potential of using AI, it’s natural that people have started putting more importance on their online privacy. Although not completely obliterated, the decrease in social media posts has been noticeable across the board. A survey by the Morning Consult showed that 61% of adults with social media say they’re more careful about what they share. While people did not stop using social media, we’ve entered a new age of dump and anonymous accounts.
Anonymity and the unfiltered life
The use of pseudonyms and finsta (short for fake Instagram) is becoming prevalent as more people are becoming more private when it comes to posting. This could include using an alias or fictitious name to conceal one’s true identity. Others opt to simply lock their social media accounts, making their posts available to only a select few. At times, the follower and following count of dump accounts are low, restricted only to close friends and family.
Another trend within this space of anonymity is Grid Zero, referring to Instagram’s grid style. With the platform’s archiving option, it’s easy to choose when and how many photos can be seen on the grid — and for some, that can mean archiving everything until there’s no post visible on the account.
Contrary to hiding posts or overcurating content, there are dump accounts that allow users to literally dump their content without curation. Unedited and unfiltered photos often find their way to these more private accounts. Although prevalent with younger generations, dump accounts can sometimes be observed in other generations as well.
How platforms are faring
The BBC has pointed to a survey wherein one in three people on social media share updates less often than they did last year. Additional research suggests that if people’s privacy worries aren’t taken seriously, they might share less information online, and that could lead to lower overall engagement. Beyond privacy concerns, factors like social media burnout play a part in the decrease in posts online. With the social media influencer era, people have become more concerned about engagement metrics than quality content.
Other platforms like Reddit thrive on anonymity. Although Reddit has been around for ages, it has gained more traction recently in other countries like the Philippines. Given the anonymous nature of users, it is one of the platforms that enjoys the age of privacy over popularity. Even X is jammed with fan accounts that exist solely to support certain celebrities and fandoms.
Fear of personal information being misused leads to less shared content. Privacy concerns don’t always stop people from using social media, but could mean that information is shared less accurately on both public and private posts. This gives birth to an army of trolls and fake news peddlers. In retrospect, while ensuring digital privacy is a good thing, it may also lead to the spread of misinformation by anonymous internet trolls.
Photo credit: The feature image is symbolic and has been taken by Camilo Jimenez.
Sources: Merriam Webster / Bobby Allyn (NPR) / Anatoliy Gruzd and Ángel Hernández-García (National Library of Medicine) / John Bumatay (Philippine Collegiate)
