Internet: Knowledge and Community

With all the new social gathering networks emerging on the internet, i.e. Facebook, Myspace, Linkedin, eHarmony, Twitter etc., I wonder as to the nature of relationships.  Can this new media provide a platform that fosters meaning relationships and interaction?

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It is my personal belief that the internet does not add any value and actually reduces the quality of relationships in a preexisting community. While the internet helps us communicate instantaneously with people all over the world it does not foster an environment which people can learn to interact with people in the physical world.  Since interacting with people is key to creating a healthy strong community the internet reduces the quality of relationships between its members.

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For me personally, the addition of social networking to my life has greatly enriched the quality and quantity of my friendships and connection to my communities. It's allowed me to reconnect with a lot of people that I would otherwise have lost touch with forever or never had much of a relationship to begin with. Sometimes this is a drawback, as there are people you would prefer to have fade out of your life but the solution to that is to not add them as "friends" or block them. It's also allowed me to interact remotely with others in certain communities that I never otherwise would have found.

I don't think my ability to socialize with people in the real world has been negatively affected either. I actually find myself setting up more times to hang out with people in the real world thanks to social networking. I also know about a lot more events that are going on in my area, which gives me a further opportunity for real-life, community interaction. 

It's all about balance. If you use it as a tool to help facilitate relationships, then it's positive. If you use it as a replacement for real-life, social interaction, then it could possibly turn you into a friendless hermit who spends sixteen hours a day checking his "wall".

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The Internet is a tool for communication. How a tool is used, and if it is the right tool for the job defines the success or failure of that particular tool. I'm not a big Facebook or My Space poster, but I do interact through some of the online forums. This does make me more aware of events that are happening out in the community. (Putnam) I think is closer to the mark in describing TV as the reason for the decline in civic participation within communities. What he does not discuss is the Internet's role. I believe that the Internet is bringing back civic participation in communities. I think it is still too early in the life cycle of social networking and Web 2.0 to gather concrete data, but it would be interesting to compare types of social networking i.e. personal, civic, hobby, club, political etc.. with the old baseline of hours spent watching TV. I think as a society we have already broken out of the TV mold (we just don't know it yet) and that digital civic community participation will become quite common. We don't all need to meet down at the local Elks Club to participate in charity fundrasing, it can be done digitally. On the flip side, meeting and scheduling meetings is becoming easier with technology thus I believe society will be more engaged as we pass through the age of the TV to the age digital connectivity for everyone.

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I often wonder as to the validity of this idea that TV has aided the decline of participation with regard to community.  Humans often look for ways to acquire information in a fast convenient manner.  With the advent of radio, then TV, followed by the internet, I believe we are seeing the human desire for the exploration of the unknown, the desire to obtain new and exciting knowledge in the most informal manner.  Before the reader cringes with the prospect that I am advocating for, or defending the inception of television, note that I am simply mentioning that the digital acquisition of information might of just been in the cards.  That being said, I recognize that generations have changed with regard to community interaction, but I don't believe this has taken place as a result of a fundamental change in our core desire for connection and involvement, moreover the digital age has fostered in an era where individuals feel connected without the requirement of a physical place.  What I am unclear about is whether this new social connectivity and private, individualized acquisition of information is resulting in a more informed, yet somehow isolated species.

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I think it's what the communities' values are that we have to look at. If we are talking communication within the community i definitely think the internet does add a value to that community. Internet has enhanced communication greatly. And the personification of communication through the internet has also intensified. Back then we send lifeless emails and now we can physically see and hear the person we are communicating with at real time or video message archival at the user's convenience. I don't believe that's how we should socialize all the time but it does help break the ice for people who might not as socialize in the physical world to experience socialization in the virtual world.