Role of Anonymity in Body Shaming on Social Media: Insights from Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects

Victim-blaming can exacerbate the negative impact of body shaming on social media, which emphasizes the need to investigate the underlying factors. Using the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects, we explore how the perpetrators’ visual and personal information anonymity affect bystanders’ victim-blaming. Additionally, we examine the role of bystander identification with the perpetrators and the potential moderating effects of personal information anonymity and body appreciation. In a 2x2 between-subjects experiment with 500 adolescents aged 13 to 18 (54% girls), visual and personal information anonymity were manipulated as part of a simulated social media body shaming incident. Surprisingly, visual and personal information anonymity did not exacerbate victim-blaming. Identification with the perpetrators did not serve as a mediating factor, nor did personal information anonymity or body appreciation moderate the indirect impact of visual anonymity on victim-blaming through identification. One plausible explanation is the social undesirability of body shaming, coupled with the brief exposure and limited interactivity in the experiment, which might have discouraged identification and mitigated the effects of anonymity. We call for further research into the specific contexts where anonymity and body shaming intertwine and more exploration of the individual attitudes towards body shaming.