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Deeper dive into Deindividuation!!

According to wikipedia.org:
Deindividuation is a concept in social psychology that is generally thought of as the loss of self-awareness in groups, although this is a matter of contention.

Now some of us will think that if we carry ourselves (identity) with us, how can we lose our self-awareness, well there are many ways, some examples are:
  • Becoming a part of a large group, such as a mob or army.
  • Becoming engrossed in an interesting task, such as a hobby.
  • Meditation and other contemplative activities.
Deindividuation is when a person loses his individual identity and gains the identity of the group. We have often noticed, when two groups argue or fight, it often looks like two people are fighting/arguing. Factors of deindividuation in a group are:
  • Anonymity, so I can not be found out.
  • Diffused responsibility, so I am not responsible for my actions.
  • Group size, as a larger group increases the above two factors.
  • Conformity to a social norm
When you are in a group, you become anonymous. The more the number in the group, the more you become anonymous. The responsibility of the task is shared, you are not personally responsible for any harm that the group has performed. So, a morally questionable act may seem less personally wrong. This is why the mobs and strikes tend to go out of hands and cause more damages than intended. One may also feel a strong need to conform to a social norm if he/she is a member of that group.

When you are in a group, you may feel a shared responsibility and so less individual responsibility for your actions. In this way, a morally questionable act may seem less personally wrong. You may also feel a strong need to conform to social norms.

Examples of Deindividuation:
  1. Behaviour on the internet. We often see fights and arguments on a post or article. Many of these accounts are fake or the sites offer anonymity. Dark web is an example of such kind of behaviour.
  2. De-individuation in riots, mobs etc. The major destruction is because of the deindividuation the people in riots, feel anonymous status and shared responsibility. 
  3. Hacking groups can also be an example of deindividuation.
  4. Sports hooliganism 
Losing ones individuality can go both ways. Good, with your own single effort powerful results are hard to achieve but co-operating or being a part of a large number ensures efficiency and more powerful results.
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