Abstract
An online experiment was conducted to examine the causal effects of digital content permanency on perceived anonymity, as well as the correlations between perceived anonymity, perceived consequences of anonymous cyber bullying, normative beliefs about cyber bullying, and cyber bullying intentions. College students in the United States were introduced to a social media platform described as featuring either non-permanent or permanent content. Results showed participants in the non-permanent (vs. permanent) condition were more likely to believe they would remain anonymous. People who believed they could remain anonymous were in turn less likely to believe they would face consequences of anonymous cyber bullying. In addition, normative beliefs about cyber bullying were related to beliefs about facing retaliation and family disapproval. Overall, this study disentangles different concepts related to anonymity and provides causal evidence that a unique feature in digital spaces—content permanency—can impact perceptions of anonymity, which are in turn correlated with factors known to influence cyber bullying intentions.
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