Do we need anonymity on the net?

There was a time (in years past) where allowing yourself to be openly identified on the Internet was seen as quite taboo. There were measures and protocols that allowed one to feel as though pseudonyms were the accepted norm and concealing your identity meant that you were completely safe from the vast reaches of the web and all its dangers. Now (over time), it is as if the Internet has become necessary tool that we constantly tap into. Naturally with our ever increasing trust of the Internet, we have let the ‘hang ups’ of identity slip through our grasp. As a society we seem more open about putting ourselves out there for the world to see. Then why, after all this time of ‘stranger danger’ being drilled into us about the web, are we suddenly letting go of our identity neuroses?
It seems with the development of the web and its easy accessibility, communication via these media platforms has been allowed to grow and evolve. Particular platforms like social networking sites such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace have enabled us to feel less inhibited about putting our true/natural identities out there. Yet even this may be a generalization. Those that seem to be putting themselves into the vast world of the internet may only seem to be doing so. People still have reservations about complete exposure. So then, we need to ask if this is a generational trend.
Speaking from personal experience, I use a pseudonym for my Facebook page. There are pictures of me but my profile is excessively private (to my knowledge- Facebook is forever creating new revealing apps and constantly default subscribing its members). I have given no employer details, personal contact details; even my current city is a mystery. The reason I have done this is only partly due to identity protection. In general, I do not think it is necessary to divulge such information on an internet- based forum. On the flip side, my much younger cousin uploads photos frivolously, has detailed contact information and posts inappropriate status updates and comments. It seems this is the natural behaviour for her and her friends in this environment.
So perhaps, it is the younger generation that has less identity hang-ups and less reason to be cautious about identity than when I started using the internet. The dangers are still present, but perhaps, when I first snooped around the Web, details and information about the dangers of the web were constantly blaring through the media. This may have been because the Internet was somewhat still an unknown tool to society. Now it is our technological everything and because increasingly younger generations are growing up knowing more about the Net, the Web may not seem like such a threat; which then explains all the willing exposure of personal information pertaining to identity. It seems that in future, anonymity will be a dead scene.