To Catch A Redditor: Studying the Identity of Anonymous Users on Reddit, Online and Offline

Abstract

This thesis explores how anonymous users of online networks deal with the conundrum of needing to create a new identity to participate as individuals in a network. An anonymous identity is paradoxical as the two terms directly oppose each other. However, users who desire to benefit in their network, must create an identity to maximize their online presence and social capital. In the offline world, a separate social capital exists, as users shun their online identity to better achive physical benefits. The social news site Reddit presents this difference between the online and offline, and allows us to view user histories, conduct in depth interviews with users, and observe offline meetups. Although the research focuses on the offline and online realm separately, it emphasizes the connection and overlap as all users participate in both worlds. This thesis aims to analyze the backwards progression of online to offline interaction among Reddit users.