Online disinhibition effect

The online disinhibition effect refers to the lack of restraint one feels when communicating online in comparison to communicating in-person. People tend to feel safer saying things online that they would not say in real life because they have the ability to remain completely anonymous and invisible when on particular websites, and as a result, free from potential consequences such as physical harm and other punishments. Apart from anonymity, other factors such as asynchronous communication, empathy deficit, or individual personality and cultural factors also contribute to online disinhibition. The manifestations of such an effect could be in both positive and negative directions; thus, online disinhibition could be classified as either benign disinhibition or toxic disinhibition.

The term was originally introduced by Dr. John Suler, a professor of psychology at Rider University in his 2004 paper, "The Online Disinhibition Effect," published in the journal CyberPsychology & Behavior. People had been noticing flaming and aggressive behavior on message boards for a while already, but Suler was the one who mapped out exactly why people behave so differently in cyberspace than in real life.

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