Online Communities

I don’t believe physical proximity is what constitutes a community. A community to me means a group of people interacting and supporting each other, and this can certainly be found on the Internet. Communities on the Internet may consist of people that have never even laid eyes on each other. However, the relationships between members of the online community may be stronger than those between neighbors, coworkers, or families in real life. This is most likely because of the way a person on the Internet is unafraid to express their true feelings, especially if they are interacting under an anonymous identity they created for themselves. These identities are usually idealized versions of people, meant to give them confidence. People are more willing to open up about their problems or ideas online because they don’t have to worry about other’s judgments affecting their lives permanently. Interacting online also eliminates concerns that the person could be rebuffed or rejected in person for what they say. Members of an online community offer support for one another. People in online communities tend to have common interests which gives members a sense of belonging that may be just as strong as being part of a physical community.

The Virtual World vs. The Real World

In their work, Chester and Breterton (2007) conclude that “cyberspace is not a virtual world without connection to the rest of people’s lives. What we do and who we are online are shaped consciously and unconsciously by who we are offline. The Internet is, after all a part of our real life…”

I couldn’t agree more with Chester and Breterton. People sometimes feel that once they enter cyberspace, they are in an alternate reality. However, the web is not some sort of other world – all the people we interact with online are real individuals and they have thoughts and feelings like everyone in our actual lives. People often create alter-identities online or act in ways they normally wouldn’t, but they are still the same person. The Internet simply brings out facets of people's personalities or how they wish they could be in real life. It's as if they are living vicariously through their Internet personas. It’s all part of a person's personality; they may just normally hide or suppress some aspects of it. Of course how people are offline is going to affect who they try to be online, because they're not really changing. Likewise, how they behave and interact with people on the Internet can have an effect on their lives in the real world.