PRIVACY VERSUS ANONYMITY. Privacy has historically been
something that a consumer could control to a great degree by
simply choosing to whom to reveal information. Even the act of
leaving your home to go shopping presented a situation where
you could control who you greeted and gave your name or other
personal information to. Even the time of day you chose to go
shopping impacted who you might run into—going to the grocery
store late at night limits the type of people who would be
likely to see you. I once knew a teacher who would go shopping
late at night so that she could avoid having any of her students
observe her buying beer and cigarettes: She protected her privacy
by controlling her actions.
This attempt at privacy didn’t render my friend anonymous;
privacy and anonymity are often confused because their
purposes overlap considerably. Dictionary.com defines them as
follows:
• Privacy. 1a. The quality or condition of being secluded from
the presence or view of others. 1b. The state of being free
from unsanctioned intrusion: a person’s right to privacy. 2.
The state of being concealed; secrecy.
• Anonymity. The quality or state of being unknown or unacknowledged.
One that is unknown or unacknowledged.
Anonymity can be used to reinforce privacy, however both
are actually very difficult to achieve in today’s society. Even
those of us that are not movie stars or well-known celebrities
place a high value on our privacy and ability to occasionally be
unknown to those around us.