This would be ironic, all things considered, but the Internet issue most relevant to me would definitely have to be online communities, and online interaction within that community.
Of course, all of us use the Internet for various purposes - researching, chatting, entertainment. In this context though, I am specifically referring to meaningful interaction within an online community, which comes with its own set of rules, protocol, and sometimes, language.
Being away from home is tough - and being apart from a support group of close friends even more so. It's not hard to imagine that being in Buffalo alone takes its toll on the psyche of the average person, especially if you come from a drastically different climate. However, by participating in online communities, I have not only been able to actively keep in touch with friends and family back home and find out how everyone is doing, I am able to feel like there is still somewhere I belong. After all - online communities are not bound by geographical restrictions, even if the basis from which it started might have been otherwise.
Other than this, I have a personal blog on Livejournal, where I like to pen down my personal thoughts and feelings whenever I'm in the mood. One of the things that's good about livejournal is the fact that you can add friends, and restrict posts to various groups. In this way, not only can I keep track of what my friends are thinking, I can decide how much and what, to let different groups of people know about me. Communities within communities - some are close friends, but others are still closer.
Another thing I particularly enjoy about Livejournal are the various interest communities that spring from it. Depending on your own particular interests, you should be able to find like-minded individuals in just about any subject you can think of! This would probably come as another shock, but I'm actually an avid fan of the community bakebakebake, a community created by bakers for bakers, to share recipes for mouthwatering recipes (note: try going to the website on a full stomach. I warned you). Actively participating in this community, I've made quite a few friends from all around the world. Even though I've never met them before, I'm still able to call them friends by virtue of our shared passions and conversations on everything else.
Another community I am actively involved in is SOFT, singapore's unofficial music forum for all things music related. I've contributed there for years, fostered a few friendships online that even lead to real-life friendships, and it's a community I can truly say that I'm an inherent part of. We have our own lingo (I really love the term G.A.S, ask me about it sometime), our own rules and most importantly, our own identity. There are annual gatherings for SOFTies where we do fun things like barbeques and games (while talking about more boring things to other people, like music), most of which would be the first time most of these online friends actually meet for the first time. You'd never expect it though, that people could just hit it off like old friends even though they'd just met. That's the thing about online communities - you usually are old friends, before you do finally meet.
Kang, I., Lee, K. C., Lee, S., & Choi, J. (2004) Investigation of online community voluntary behavior using cognitive map. Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 23, Issue 1, January 2007, pg 111-126.
Noff, A. (2008) Why people participate in online communities. Retrieved November 16th, 2009, from http://thenextweb.com/2008/05/24/why-people-participate-in-online-communities/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm trying not to rock to hard myself, yet your introduction of non-limits with use of the internet has me hard pressed to explore old friends with this new tool.
ReplyDeleteWithout the internet, I most likely wouldn't keep in contact with my family and friends. Using the internet is fun to just say a casual "Hello". I haven't heard of Livejournal. It sounds interesting and I must check it out soon.
ReplyDelete