Why deceive people online?
There are many reason why people deceive others online. Deceiving others online has become relatively easy because of the anonymity factor. In the article written by Caspi and Gorsky (2006), Joinson and Dietz-Uhler consider psychiatric illness, identity play, and expression of true self as motivations for online deception. In the same article, Donnath warns about malicious intent. The motivations of online deception can be both positive and negative.
Different emotions may emerge, depending on the type of motivation a person has. If someone's motivation is for malicious intent they may feel stress, guilt, or shame when face-to-face however, when online people don't feel stressed. Others may get enjoyment out of it when their motivation is identity play or expression of true self. Caspi and Gorsky (2006) did a study with Israeli participants who had to fill out a two-part "Deception Questionnaire". They were asked demographic details as well as their opinion of the prevalence of online deception, if they've ever deceived online, and if they've ever sensed that they've been deceived online. If they had ever deceived someone online, they were asked to mark what they gave incorrect information about (age, sex, etc.) and what their motivation was to do so. They found that privacy concerns and identity play were the most prevalent reasons to deceive (Caspi and Gorsky, 2006). Refer to Table 3 in the article.
Also, a motivation for people with disabilities is the fact that computer-mediated communication makes people visually anonymous (Bowker & Tuffin, 2003). When you first meet someone, you judge them based on appearance. This is an aspect that computer-mediated communication takes completely out of play. As stated in the Bowker and Tuffin (2003) article, "online, users have access to any form of self-presentation as identity becomes a matter of choice, independent of bodily form, physical gesture, dress, and vocal characteristics" (Poster, 1997). The visual anonymity factor of the internet is very appealing to those who either have facial deformities, disabilities, or maybe they just want to be someone else. This is beneficial for them because they can be themselves without getting judged by others, based on their looks. They can play with their identity and gain a higher self-esteem. There are also many different chat rooms that people with disabilities can go into as a means of getting support and being able to talk freely with people similar to them.
Siyahhan, Barab, and James (2011) conducted a study investigating the stances of children (ages 10-14) in regards to the ethics of online identity play. The study that was conducted had a scenario about peer identity misrepresentation through a virtual 3D game environment. The children (265 elementary students) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions in the study. The conditions differed in how they displayed the issue. In the abstracted condition, the students had to answer five open-ended survey questions. In the immersive condition, the same five questions from the previous condition were embedded in a narrative where the students were positioned to give advice to a non-player character (who was confronted with the issue). In the consequential condition, not only did the student give advice but they were asked to act on behalf of the non-player character.
Motivation for identity play of the person who is misrepresenting him/herself online:
-48.1% (N=79) of the respondents in the abstracted condition, 60% (N=61) of the respondents in the immersive condition, and 58.6% (N=75) of the respondents in the consequential condition reported a social motivation (Ex- trying to look cool, impress others, etc.)
-Second most frequent response in the abstracted condition was to protect oneself from predators
-Other motivations reported were making new friends online, expressing one's dreams/desires, playing, attracting the opposite sex, avoiding harassment or isolation, feeling better about oneself, and the desire to tease others (Siyahhan et al., 2011).
Different emotions may emerge, depending on the type of motivation a person has. If someone's motivation is for malicious intent they may feel stress, guilt, or shame when face-to-face however, when online people don't feel stressed. Others may get enjoyment out of it when their motivation is identity play or expression of true self. Caspi and Gorsky (2006) did a study with Israeli participants who had to fill out a two-part "Deception Questionnaire". They were asked demographic details as well as their opinion of the prevalence of online deception, if they've ever deceived online, and if they've ever sensed that they've been deceived online. If they had ever deceived someone online, they were asked to mark what they gave incorrect information about (age, sex, etc.) and what their motivation was to do so. They found that privacy concerns and identity play were the most prevalent reasons to deceive (Caspi and Gorsky, 2006). Refer to Table 3 in the article.
Also, a motivation for people with disabilities is the fact that computer-mediated communication makes people visually anonymous (Bowker & Tuffin, 2003). When you first meet someone, you judge them based on appearance. This is an aspect that computer-mediated communication takes completely out of play. As stated in the Bowker and Tuffin (2003) article, "online, users have access to any form of self-presentation as identity becomes a matter of choice, independent of bodily form, physical gesture, dress, and vocal characteristics" (Poster, 1997). The visual anonymity factor of the internet is very appealing to those who either have facial deformities, disabilities, or maybe they just want to be someone else. This is beneficial for them because they can be themselves without getting judged by others, based on their looks. They can play with their identity and gain a higher self-esteem. There are also many different chat rooms that people with disabilities can go into as a means of getting support and being able to talk freely with people similar to them.
Siyahhan, Barab, and James (2011) conducted a study investigating the stances of children (ages 10-14) in regards to the ethics of online identity play. The study that was conducted had a scenario about peer identity misrepresentation through a virtual 3D game environment. The children (265 elementary students) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions in the study. The conditions differed in how they displayed the issue. In the abstracted condition, the students had to answer five open-ended survey questions. In the immersive condition, the same five questions from the previous condition were embedded in a narrative where the students were positioned to give advice to a non-player character (who was confronted with the issue). In the consequential condition, not only did the student give advice but they were asked to act on behalf of the non-player character.
Motivation for identity play of the person who is misrepresenting him/herself online:
-48.1% (N=79) of the respondents in the abstracted condition, 60% (N=61) of the respondents in the immersive condition, and 58.6% (N=75) of the respondents in the consequential condition reported a social motivation (Ex- trying to look cool, impress others, etc.)
-Second most frequent response in the abstracted condition was to protect oneself from predators
-Other motivations reported were making new friends online, expressing one's dreams/desires, playing, attracting the opposite sex, avoiding harassment or isolation, feeling better about oneself, and the desire to tease others (Siyahhan et al., 2011).