--- description: It fosters hate and racism title: Jonathan Taplin: Online Anonymity Brings Out Our Worst image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2211066c7754528b/6988631af887dc6bbfe924c2/question-everything-anonymous-online-jonathan-taplin.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 11, 2015 # Anonymity Brings Out the Worst In Humans by Jonathan Taplin  NEW YORK, NY - JULY 10: Actor Haley Joel Osment discusses his new series "The Spoils Before Dying" at AOL Studios In New York on July 10, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Adela Loconte/WireImage) NEW YORK, NY - JULY 10: Actor Haley Joel Osment discusses his new series "The Spoils Before Dying" at AOL Studios In New York on July 10, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Adela Loconte/WireImage)Getty Images; Illustration by Mia Tramz for TIME The anonymity of the Internet allows our citizens to post the most vile, racist and hateful comments imaginable. It brings out the worst in humans. Plato asked: If we were shielded from the consequences of our actions, how would that change the way we act? We now know the answer. Anonymous apps like Yik Yak coarsen personal relations. Civil libertarians will argue that anonymity protects dissidents, but my guess is that authoritarian regimes can trace users in the same way Ashley Madison’s users were unmasked. Social media were supposed to be the new public square. Instead it’s a Tower of Babel, with thousands venting anger, and little or no understanding. _Taplin is director of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Innovation Lab_ Jonathan Taplin on Being Anonymous Online ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/question-everything/4028444/jonathan-taplin-should-we-let-ourselves-be-anonymous-online/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/question-everything/4028444/jonathan-taplin-should-we-let-ourselves-be-anonymous-online/"},"headline":"Jonathan Taplin: Online Anonymity Brings Out Our Worst","datePublished":"2015-09-11T17:21:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:08:39.040Z","description":"It fosters hate and racism","url":"https://time.com/collections/question-everything/4028444/jonathan-taplin-should-we-let-ourselves-be-anonymous-online/","keywords":["Question Everything"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2211066c7754528b/6988631af887dc6bbfe924c2/question-everything-anonymous-online-jonathan-taplin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2211066c7754528b/6988631af887dc6bbfe924c2/question-everything-anonymous-online-jonathan-taplin.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/question-everything/4028444/jonathan-taplin-should-we-let-ourselves-be-anonymous-online/","name":"Jonathan Taplin: Online Anonymity Brings Out Our Worst"}}]}] ```