On Anonymity

Written on 12:13 PM by Jack B.

The further I go along in this blog the more I think I should put my full name in my profile. I mean, these are my thoughts, right? I should be able to claim them as such. As it is my initials (JB) are there - why not the rest? Originally I didn't do it because just in case anyone I knew stumbled upon this page they couldn't tell it was me. For instance none of my friends or acquaintances know of my interest in Catholicism. It's not something talked about in the circles I travel in. As for my family, they don't even read my blog (or any blog) at all - I know because I asked. But increasingly those reasons are making less and less sense. I mean I haven't exactly confessed some deep dark secrets. This blog is not my Father Confessor. Who cares who makes the connection to it and me?

On the other hand, being anonymous gives me a certain amount of freedom. I don't know how to explain it exactly but I feel like I can say things I couldn't say if my actual name was attached. I don't know what "things" these may be exactly but I get that feeling all the same. There's something about being faceless and nameless that releases inhibitions - like you're able to let loose a side of yourself that you otherwise couldn't.

I don't know how to resolve this, though I'm sure some psychologist somewhere has written a paper/book on the phenomenon.