Description
Part 1:
Some of the theories about “online community” argue that it is possible to build a close relationship online with people that we have never met in person. These theories also claim that people can achieve a “real” sense of being in a “place” when using the internet and social media (similar to an offline social environment or “community”).
Do you think that online communities can fulfill the same social functions as offline communities, for instance, creating feelings of comfort, belonging, and cohesion?
What does the digital mode of interaction remove from online communities that offline communities do provide?
Articles and Video:
“The Very First Social Network” (Slate)
“SF Lovers Thread 1979” (MIT)
“The Lost Civilization of Dial-Up Bulletin Board Systems” (The Atlantic)”The Very First Social Network” (Slate)
“SF Lovers Thread 1979” (MIT)
“The Lost Civilization of Dial-Up Bulletin Board Systems” (The Atlantic)
“Manosphere Communities Are Becoming More Toxic” (Newsweek)
Growing Online Community
Part 2:
Instructions: Please write a half a page, double spaced reflection on the following question:
At the end of the discussion of #GamerGate, I state: “#GamerGate illustrates that, while online communities can be studied as communities in the sociological sense of the word, virtual and “real” (or offline) worlds are never disconnected, because computer-mediated communication does not happen in a separate reality. People are accompanied by their social baggage (such as gender identities, socioeconomic statuses, cultural resources, ages, offline connections with others, etc.) in their online interactions with others.”
Among some sociologists, the above-mentioned complexity has raised questions about the viability of the “online community” as a sociological concept.
Do you think that using the term “community” when referring to the Internet or digital media is still relevant in today’s digitally connected world? For example, do you agree with Howard Rheingold’s 1993 (“The Virtual Community”) observation that “Digital media breath a new form of life into a new form of community,” and we, therefore, require a reconceptualization of the idea of “community?”