Technology Online Community

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Pages: 3

Technology has forced changes in how researchers think about the idea of community (Delanty, 2003). Digital technology allows everyone, if they so desire, to communicate with everyone else (Tremetzberger, 2009). These virtual communities are places where people do all the things they would do in real life in terms of social interaction while just leaving their bodies behind:
People in virtual communities use words on screens to exchange pleasantries and argue, engage in intellectual discourse, conduct commerce, exchange knowledge, share emotional support, make plans, brainstorm, gossip, feud, fall in love, find friends and lose them, play games, flirt, create a little high art and a lot of idle talk. (Rheingold, 2000, p. 6)
Several decades ago, some researchers had already theorized that face-to-face, place-based communities were becoming unnecessary because of technology (Bell, 1979).
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The public now has the technological option to easily remain connected regardless of any physical factors of separation. In this vein, community can and does exist online, and journalists can have a role in helping to create online communities (Meyer & Carey, 2014). Online communities engage in collective action, have social regulations, and participate in shared rituals similar to offline communities (Park, 2011). Furthermore, while online content seeks to generate civic engagement, there remains debate over if online networks are more or less interactive than the offline communities that came before (Walther et al, 2011). Active participation in online community networks promotes mutual respect and trust, as well as relationships of reciprocity and cooperation (Harrison, Zappen & Prell, 2002). This is important because trust, reciprocity, and communication are essential to the formation of any community (Harrison, Zappen & Prell,