Impact of Anonymity and Perceived Safety on Youth in Joining Radical Groups and Propagating Digital Fascism
Keywords:
Digital Fascism, Anonymity, Radical Groups, Perceived Safety, Social Media, SPSS, Deindividuation EffectsAbstract
In this digitized world, anonymity on social platforms allows freedom of expression but this has also led to the evolution of extreme ideas like digital fascism. This paper explores how digital fascism propagates because of anonymity and perceived safety online since people can avoid being traced back to their real selves and avoid any accountability for their actions. The Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects theory, used in this study investigates how anonymity and perceived safety are associated with an increased likelihood of people joining online radical groups and propagating digital fascism given that people can disassociate with their identities and follow the collective ideologies of those groups. The methodology for the research was quantitative and used purposive sampling (n=272) of the students from the government universities of Lahore for the online survey. They were selected based on their usage of social networking sites who were between the ages of 18 to 25 years. An online Google Forms questionnaire was used as a tool that recorded the respondents’ frequency of using social media, the effect of anonymity coupled with perceived safety, their willingness to share fascist content, join radical groups, and follow their activities. The data was gathered and then analyzed with the help of SPSS software. The findings revealed that the participants who choose to remain anonymous are more likely to propagate fascist material and those who perceive anonymity as safety will likely join online groups that promote fascist content.