I know at this point a lot of it is related to money, but there was a transitional time that led to this point that I’m still confused by.
What details changed about online spaces that made many folks more comfortable sharing so much under their real names between the “Be careful!” times to where we are now?
Very interesting question. As an Italian (specifying this because it probably changes what and when things happened), I remember this transition started to happen in 2010 mainly because of Facebook.
It’s difficult to say why we decided to go with real names on that platform when there were already other similar ones (netlog was super popular here), where most people were mostly semi-anonimous (real pictures, fake names). I totally agree with another comment which said we started to realize internet was not that dangerous or bad, which probably made this happen, combined with the fact that Facebook explicitly asks for your real name.
Back then, I feel there was also much less attention to privacy on the internet (or maybe it’s just because I was a teenager), and it felt super exciting to engage with every new platform or website.
That’s pretty much it everywhere. As soon as Facebook started “requiring” a real name, it soon became the norm rather than the taboo.
It took me a long time just to even do any online shopping because I would have to give my name, address and CC info out and I didn’t know who would have access to that info.