Now that cell phones, chat rooms, social networking sites, and electronic communication have become more popular, it seems like people talk more over electronics compared to in person. On social networking sites you can create a group chat where a whole bunch of people can talk to each other and communicating in groups over social media has opened up a new kind of community.
I'm not saying this new kind of community is good or bad, it is just different compared to talking in person. Some people want to be a part of a community group, but they do not have time to go to any of the meetings, so it is nice for them to know that they can still join because the information is all on a social networking site. If someone misses a meeting for their community group, it is convenient to have sites where that person can communicate about what they missed. It has opened up new doors by getting all of the information about a community group out there, so that the information only has to be put out there at one time instead of having to be repeated to everyone who missed it.
Speaking in person with someone is better than staring at your cell phone screen, but it is a well enough alternative.
There are virtual communities, in other words, online communities, where they share everything over the internet. The people in online communities could be people far away from each other who just have the same aspirations, goals, and wishes. Online communities or even communities who are online and in person have not lowered our standards of what community means because people are still sharing the same goal. It is just over the internet.
Whether it is a community online or a community in person, people that are in both of those communities have the same goals that they want to achieve. That shows that the sense of community has grown even stronger. If it was not for the internet, people would be closed off to so many different opportunities that they could have received from online communities. Online communities have not lowered our standards of what community means. According to the Oxford Dictionaries, the definition of community is “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals." Proving that a community is all about sharing the same aspirations, goals and feelings, and expressing it over the phone or in person means that sharing those things conquers the same goal either way.
