Communities in Social Media

As I was reading this document and pondering about my own experiences with social media I came to the conclusion that the internet does not destroy the idea of community, it rather breaks down the boundaries and limitations of communities before the Internet.

“It is not that the world is a global village, but as McLuhan originally said, “one’s village” could span the globe."

This quote really struck home for me. I have family all over the country in places like California, New York, Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Nevada etc. and the Internet has allowed me to keep those important family members in what I consider my community. On one side of my family we created a group, The Stone Family, in order to keep in touch, share photos, videos, etc. There are several posts in this group every week! What an awesome way to keep in touch with family that lives outside of my physical community. Without the internet and these online social media networks and community I would know a lot less about what is going on in my family member’s lives.

"As social beings, those who use the Net seek not only information but also companionship, social support and a sense of belonging."

I know from personal experience that this statement is very true, especially in my usage of social media. If I ever have a question that I want a lot of opinions on, I post on Facebook and get several real life answers from real people. I also do the answering on people’s questions. I feel like there is a mutual trust between friends on Facebook that you will ask for and give advice when it is warranted. Here is an example of one of my best friends who needed advice on a photographer for her wedding, this one post elicited over 30 comments from her Facebook friends. This is a great example of information on social media.

Another great example from this quote is people posting on Facebook, and other social media sites, to feel a sense of belonging. I know that I am personally guilty of doing this. I know that sometimes I post on Facebook to see how many likes I can get and to also let people know what we are up to. Whether I realized it at the time or not, I am seeking for a sense on belonging among my community on Facebook. The more likes/comments etc. I get the more I feel that I belong.

"Yet information supplied over the Net is not like information flows through other relationships, for the Net’s speed and greater connectivity can accelerate the spread of (mis)information when people often send messages to scores of friends."

The last example I really enjoyed from this article talks about the speed information and mis-information can be spread because of these new social networks. I see these sorts of things spread all over social media, and it is crazy how quickly these things spread. One of my all time favorite ‘social media hoaxes’ as I call them, was one going around about a girl shooting two illegal aliens. This hoax was spread so rapidly, and it is still being spread on facebook almost a year later, even though it is very false! There are several comments on the post linking to the snopes site that debunks this claim, but it is still spread. This shows how well information, including mis-information, can be spread on social media.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=299580050169891&set=a.236134429847787.57491.236121119849118&type=1&theater

Social media opens up a whole new way of sharing things and keeping in touch with people. Along with many benefits, there are also some negative consequences that come from these new developments, but with every new technological advancement that will come.