Anthony Padilla’s Interview With Corpse Husband Changed My Perspective on Anonymity
Why being anonymous may not be the best way to go
Recently, I wrote a story about staying anonymous online. My initial thought was that being anonymous was the best way to be safe. However, Anthony Padilla’s recent interview with Corpse Husband made me look at the situation from a different perspective.
In the video, Anthony asks several questions relating to internet fame. Corpse admits the hate can be daunting at times. People don’t see him as a real person because he’s never shown his face. He said, “In people’s heads I’m more of like a character or like a brand or like an anime character or something, so they don’t treat me as if I’m an actual person.”
Corpse Husband’s meteoric rise to fame didn’t help either. He has observed that people will hate anything popular just because it’s popular. Anthony agreed and stated, “People treat popular people as if they have no feelings and no heart.”
The masses believe that when someone gains considerable fame and financial success, they should be happy and content. However, money can’t solve every problem and oftentimes magnifies any issues you had before. Corpse shared his feelings about this complex topic by saying, “How many celebrity suicides and artist suicides is it gonna take for people to be like y’know it happens? All the hate comments and sh*t like that, but like we’re people.”
Anthony spoke about his own experiences with internet fame. He noted his rise to fame was slow and gradual, as was any hate he received. He never hid his face, so people already knew who he was by the time he got famous. Because Corpse Husband blew up overnight, any hate he would receive for revealing his face would come all at once.
Corpse disclosed that he constantly worries about being doxxed. He’s afraid someone will recognize him by his famous deep voice, so most of the time he doesn’t speak in public. When asked if he would ever reveal his face, he said he doesn’t plan to do so any time soon. He struggles with depression and fears the hate would be too much to bear.
“You’ve kinda dug yourself into a hole. You backed yourself up into a corner with how much you’ve been honest about yourself. Cause now if you tell anyone anything real about yourself in person, it would line up too closely. You’ve almost chosen, inadvertently, but you’ve chosen to be your authentic self to the internet only. And therefore your interactions in real life are inauthentic because you can’t be authentic.” — Anthony Padilla
So what do I believe now?
I naively thought complete anonymity was the way to go, but now I’m not so sure. When you show your face, people see you as a human being. Does that mean you won’t ever receive hate? No, but it’s better to be seen as a human being than an anime character.
Life requires balance. There are unique benefits to being public or anonymous. I maintain my anonymity differently on each social platform. Sometimes I reveal my real face but use a nickname. Sometimes I conceal my face and use a nickname. In the past, I was much more open and didn’t worry about protecting my identity. However, over the years I have become more paranoid that someone will try to steal what little I have.
It’s up to you how much of yourself you reveal online. Just remember that almost every social media account has a real person behind it. (At least I hope so.) Yes, technically we do share our work to be judged, but that doesn’t make us immune to hate and negativity. Words do hurt sometimes. They can break one’s creative spirit. That doesn’t make us overly sensitive. It makes us human.
What are your thoughts about anonymity? Do you prefer to put it all out there or do you keep certain aspects of yourself private?
Check out Anthony’s video below for the full interview.
