It took a generation to see the benefits of online anonymity
I think that breaking society down to Generation This or That, based on age groups is simplistic, but from what I’ve been observing for some time now, it seems that Generation Z, also known as Zoomers, born between the mid-1990s and the 2010s, seem to prefer to be anonymous online, presumably bringing to an end the previous generation’s fixation with personal branding, attention, and influence .
In contrast to Millennials’ obsession with Instagram , Zoomers use tools such as Tumblr — which after years of neglect in the hands of Yahoo! has blossomed under the ownership of Automattic — or Discord, sites where most people use pseudonyms and profiles that guarantee their anonymity.
After a generation focused on social networks, using profiles with name and surname in the hope of becoming an influencer, we’re now seeing the search for interaction on the network free from the pressures of personal branding and searches.
Unless they are kind enough to give you their username, which in many cases they hide even from members of their family, it’s hard to know who you’re really talking to. With Millennials, when new students came to my business school, it was easy to find them on social networks, and anybody who kept a low profile was considered weird. Now, apparently, the name of the game is to have…
