Where Online Meets Offline

Young people have grown up alongside social media platforms and many have never known a world without them. Teens and young adults are often very intentional about what they post on social media and how they present themselves on each platform. Social media allows users to carefully curate content that follows a certain narrative and builds an online identity. However, this on-screen identity can be different to the one users portray offline.

In the digital world, people can choose to use their real name and have public profiles or they have the option to be anonymous, allowing them to post content while hiding behind a screen. Anonymity and crafted online identities can make people feel more empowered to speak their minds and be themselves when they do not feel comfortable doing so in real life. This is what cyberpsychology experts call the online disinhibition effect: the lack of restraint people feel when interacting online as opposed to interacting in-person.

Most people’s online disinhibition is benign. Social media users benefit from the anonymity the internet offers and use it to express themselves more openly and form interpersonal relationships. People that are shy or have social anxiety find it much easier to make friends and be more vocal on the internet, where they can reveal parts of themselves without fear of judgment. The most popular social media platforms among Gen Z are the ones that serve precisely this purpose — providing a space for young people to express themselves in formats that are quick, simple, and visual.