Influence of Anonymity on Online Counseling Platforms amongst Young Adults

Counseling has aided people in developing a better perspective of themselves, fostering positive interpersonal relationships, and improving communication skills. Today, with the advent of technology, online counseling has been discovered to be the new ray of hope and safe retreat for people by offering support merely through words online. Consequently, with the clear advantage of anonymity in online counseling, the client's identity remains anonymous and confidential, since they have the freedom to create profiles that exclude their names and help them remain anonymous from anything that may expose them or be of valuable evidence. This study therefore aims to investigate if people prefer online counseling therapy over traditional face to face therapy; and to find out what role anonymity plays on online counseling platforms. The questionnaire survey method was employed as a tool to collect data from a sample of 152 university students between the age groups of 18 – 26 across different countries. The results demonstrated that most of the students in the survey agreed that traditional face to face counseling was more effective, involved more sincere cooperation and devotion between the therapist and the client over online counseling. They were of the view that in online counseling, the therapist might not be able to effectively grasp their issues on a personal level without being able to engage with them face-to-face. Anonymity definitely plays a major positive role in removing stigma and mainly assisting clients in revealing personal information, regardless of their gender, age, or socioeconomic background. Therefore, the respondents either preferred traditional over online therapy or to have a mix of both approaches.