Unmasked But Free — Win Our Two-Faced Culture
We can wear our insides out, but that won’t be pleasant to anybody. I mean, who wants to see guts hanging out?
Batman’s mask isn’t the bat, it’s Bruce Wayne.
As much as you’d hate to admit it you have two parts of you. The one you show society and the one you show the closest people to you. In this story, and in all of my writing on this account, I am displaying my innermost self.
The way I do it best is anonymity. You could call it cowardice, but apart from the advantage of lacking fear of being judged we carry with us one way or the other, it’s freeing me from society’s shackles. I can write everything that comes to my mind.
And I have a lot to say. But I don’t have to stop and think of how someone would think of me if he read it. I reveal my deepest parts without the vulnerability I hate so much in opening up to people.
I can count on one hand the amount of people I trust with that information.
But this isn’t just a place for you to get to know me, because everything is connected. By revealing my deepest parts I can share my thoughts on this world in a different way.
Batman removes the Bruce Wayne mask to be himself on the streets. I open up Medium and my Daily Life Escapism accounts to express myself. It’s a superpower I accidentally found out when initially all I wanted this to be was a frustration pit for my life as a caged software developer.
Anonymity isn’t a new thing, but I’ve learned so much about it just by writing here. It added a new perspective to my life and I discovered I wasn’t the only one. And there are four different ways to do it:
Just Anonymous
Ones who build an audience but aren’t well known yet, like me. To be honest, I seek recognition more than fame. It’s important for me to move the needle by tackling people’s thoughts and enlightening them.
Ex-Anonymous
In the Minecraft YouTube community, a person by the account name of Dream was a rising star. Even though I’m less of a Minecraft video type of guy I couldn’t help but be interested in how he built his 30 million subscriber empire. The coolest thing is that he always wore a mask.
However, 10 months ago he made a face reveal video. I never watched any of his videos but I felt compelled to know who that guy is. And then the interesting moment was gone.
And it looks like his viewership, while still in the millions, didn’t get back to its old numbers yet. There was a debate about how a moment of fame ruined the entire future of his channel and character.
Just like superheroes in franchises, people care about what they represent. And once they know who the person is, it’s less interesting, unless you’re Iron Man.
Watching an anonymous person online just as any other content creator builds a connection. We are drawn to people who share our ideas, beliefs, and personality traits. The part that is hidden by anonymity is then projected by each member of the audience to create his or her own version of the anonymous person.
The anonymous person is different for everyone. And in a way is much better than any specifically known human, because he is what we make him to be: part of us. Introducing the actual face of the person rips that part we’ve built in our heads.
No matter how likable or cool the person ends up being, he or she would never match our expectations. Hence becoming famous but anonymous is a sign to never reveal your real face.
But what does a person who embodies this thought in mind look like?
Anti Celebrity
There is a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers called Anti Prophet that I watch occasionally. He uploads short videos talking in a very nice and articulated way about anything in life revolving around our culture and outlook on modern society.
He always wears a mask and he is proud of it. He even has a video depicting why he’ll never remove it. In his eyes, he is an anti-celebrity.
I admit I had thoughts of creating a YouTube channel of an anonymous nature myself. His content only reinforced the craving. And my mask, just as my representation here will be a space suit with a cool Astronaut helmet.
However, things can turn very ugly when anonymity will not be removed but used to do harm.
“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” — Batman in The Dark Knight
The Super Troll
Although I wish we all remove our society masks and create anonymous accounts, some part of me wishes it stays restricted to a few. I truly believe that only a handful of people can succeed in doing so or find joy in it.
On my nonanonymous accounts, I am building a full-blown brand containing my face and my personality. As a result, this account feels like the complete opposite. I am building a brand here without the chains of society.
It’s my escape from the world.
But I fear more people will find this a path for sharing hatred and fear around the world, building up communities of twisted minds without implication to the creator who remains anonymous. Instead of our Anti-Celebrity, we will have a Super Troll with hundreds of anonymous trolls and henchmen to do their bidding.
In an age where we know anything and everything, with companies selling our private data, it wouldn’t be surprising if people escaped to anonymity. We already see the rise of products that encrypt your data and keep it secure without harvesting it. And people already speak up without revealing who they are, albeit in a small form nowadays.
The Internet is a vast place and I predict that this is just the start of anonymous accounts. Hopefully, I’m just paranoid and we can hold at bay those who are here to damage others.
Did you ever stop yourself from writing something just because of society’s outlook on you?
If you’ve enjoyed this story drop a follow for more deep introspection about life and society. And after dropping a clap or fifty you can join
And you can check how society ruins us from a young age
