Online Communities
Goodfellow (2005) quoted Rheingold who said “people in virtual communities do just about everything people do in real life, but we leave our bodies behind” (p. 116). Goodfellow goes on to state that “membership of an online community is not just a matter of belonging to an organization, having a title or having personal relations with some people, but involves patterns of participation and non-participation in practice” (p. 117). These two statements are what an online community is all about. The younger generation has really taken on to the concept of online communities and they are the ones who are leading other generations into participating in them.
The types of online communities that are available seem to be endless. No matter what type of community you are looking for you are bound to find it. Sally J. Mcmillan and Margaret Morrison (2006) said that these communities are centered on “specific interests, hobbies, or beliefs” (p. 84). This is one spot of the virtual world that the younger generation has reached out to. They have done this by creating pages on MySpace and FaceBook.
Anastasia Goodstein (2006) found that in these types of sites the teens are “experimenting with their identity” (p.1). They are “experimenting with being someone else,” Goodstein (2006) says. Having these online communities allows teens to “break out of whatever labels they may have been given in the offline world” asserts Goodstein (2006). These teens are able to make up what ever identity they want to and not be judged by their peers. This can be both a good thing if the teens do not take it too far. They have to be guided to what their limitations are. If they know what their limitations are they should be able to belong to these types of communities and experiment with their identities at the same time.
Gamers, mainly the ones who participate in MUDs, form online communities that many people think go way too far into the virtual world. Many people become addicted to these games and as Daniel Sieberg found, they may even start to neglect their families before they realize there is a problem http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/04/05/eveningnews/techtalk/entry2651934.shtml. There is a fine line between an avid player and an obsessed play Sieberg states. Once you have become obsessed with the game you need to find help to deal with your addiction. If you are interested in online gaming check out this blog http://www.engamers.com/.
Mcmillan and Morrison (2006) found that thru the internet people were able to find themselves as part of a global community, but many of the participants knew that online communities should not replace live communities. Some of the participants in the study “expressed their concerns about the effects that online socializing had on their offline social lives” (p. 85). Mcmillan and Morrison (2006) found that one person stated he was able to show who he really was online and in person he had a hard time doing that.
Another thing that Mcmillan and Morrison (2006) found was that the participants of the study were very dependent on their online communities. They used the interaction they had online to define who they were and seemed to need it to “maintain social interactions.” These young adults in this study found many good and bad things about online communities, but mostly they had a consensus that it is very overwhelming.
References:
Goodfellow, R. (2005). Virtuality and the Shaping of Educational Communities. Education,
Communication & Information, 5, 113-129.
Goodstein, A. (2006, December 5). My So-Called Virtual Life. In Business Week Online.
Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.
Mcmillan, S. J. & Morrison, M. (2006). Coming of Age with the Internet: A qualitative
exploration of how the Internet has become an integral part of young people’s lives. New
Media & Society, 8, 73-95.
Goodfellow (2005) quoted Rheingold who said “people in virtual communities do just about everything people do in real life, but we leave our bodies behind” (p. 116). Goodfellow goes on to state that “membership of an online community is not just a matter of belonging to an organization, having a title or having personal relations with some people, but involves patterns of participation and non-participation in practice” (p. 117). These two statements are what an online community is all about. The younger generation has really taken on to the concept of online communities and they are the ones who are leading other generations into participating in them.
The types of online communities that are available seem to be endless. No matter what type of community you are looking for you are bound to find it. Sally J. Mcmillan and Margaret Morrison (2006) said that these communities are centered on “specific interests, hobbies, or beliefs” (p. 84). This is one spot of the virtual world that the younger generation has reached out to. They have done this by creating pages on MySpace and FaceBook.
Anastasia Goodstein (2006) found that in these types of sites the teens are “experimenting with their identity” (p.1). They are “experimenting with being someone else,” Goodstein (2006) says. Having these online communities allows teens to “break out of whatever labels they may have been given in the offline world” asserts Goodstein (2006). These teens are able to make up what ever identity they want to and not be judged by their peers. This can be both a good thing if the teens do not take it too far. They have to be guided to what their limitations are. If they know what their limitations are they should be able to belong to these types of communities and experiment with their identities at the same time.
Gamers, mainly the ones who participate in MUDs, form online communities that many people think go way too far into the virtual world. Many people become addicted to these games and as Daniel Sieberg found, they may even start to neglect their families before they realize there is a problem http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/04/05/eveningnews/techtalk/entry2651934.shtml. There is a fine line between an avid player and an obsessed play Sieberg states. Once you have become obsessed with the game you need to find help to deal with your addiction. If you are interested in online gaming check out this blog http://www.engamers.com/.
Mcmillan and Morrison (2006) found that thru the internet people were able to find themselves as part of a global community, but many of the participants knew that online communities should not replace live communities. Some of the participants in the study “expressed their concerns about the effects that online socializing had on their offline social lives” (p. 85). Mcmillan and Morrison (2006) found that one person stated he was able to show who he really was online and in person he had a hard time doing that.
Another thing that Mcmillan and Morrison (2006) found was that the participants of the study were very dependent on their online communities. They used the interaction they had online to define who they were and seemed to need it to “maintain social interactions.” These young adults in this study found many good and bad things about online communities, but mostly they had a consensus that it is very overwhelming.
References:
Goodfellow, R. (2005). Virtuality and the Shaping of Educational Communities. Education,
Communication & Information, 5, 113-129.
Goodstein, A. (2006, December 5). My So-Called Virtual Life. In Business Week Online.
Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.
Mcmillan, S. J. & Morrison, M. (2006). Coming of Age with the Internet: A qualitative
exploration of how the Internet has become an integral part of young people’s lives. New
Media & Society, 8, 73-95.
6 comments:
What can be the symptoms of online gaming/internet addiction?
Some research has shown greater distrust in CMC compared to face-to-face interactions. Does this seem apparent in online communities? Where could one drawn the line for too much CMC?
What role do parents have in monitoring teenage activity online?
Hello Tamlin!
I really enjoyed learning about what you've discovered in online communities. I was wondering about your reference to the fine line between being an avid online gamer and an addicted one. Is there any research out there that points to what types of people are more susceptible to these kinds of addictions? Do you know why these people become addicted to these games? Perhaps it is solely because of their need to complete a level (or levels), or win?
Is there a direct correlation between the amount of time spent playing online games and the amount of anxiety experienced in social situations? It would seem that many people who spend the majority of their time online would not know how to handle themselves out in the real world.
You mentioned a lot of gamer communitiess regarding internet obsessions but did your research show any other sort of internet addictions? In class we spoke about things like the chatterbots, does any of the research show that people become addicted to talking to 'people' online rather than just gaming/MUDS? Do you feel that there is one major thing that hooks people on the internet?
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