Today’s communities aren’t the same as what they were 25 years ago or more. In today’s technological environment along with the newest generation that is taking over is more deeply involved in the online world than anywhere else. As a “90’s child”, that is, someone who was born well before the 1990’s and spent my childhood and teenage years through the 1990’s I have had the both the burden and gift in seeing what the world was before the implementation of the internet and technology and seeing how it has changed our communities.
As child going out and spending time with friends was always a priority, mainly because it was the most interesting thing to do. Supporting this was always a communal environment supporting this. Whether it was activities that brought children together, such as sports, group events like scouts, or parents working together to get their kids out of their hair, there was always something going on outside the house and in a direct person-to-person interaction to arrange these events.
While I am not saying that scouting, sports, and parent collaboration doesn’t exist anymore, the communal environment that it takes place in has changed drastically. Instead of going door-to-door, posting up flyers on the billboard at the grocery store, or putting an article in the newspaper, now events and news are shared among electronic message boards such as Facebook. The place an environment of our community has changed, some may say for the worse, others for the better.
Looking at what the internet has to offer and the Community Values that are viewed as important it isn’t surprising that this would occur though. The internet offers a high amount of the sense of community that people are seeking, by being able to seek out others that share their viewpoints and offer quick and encouraging responses that increases our sense of belonging. This also plays an impact on our sense of Ecological Perspective, the perceived fit between the person and their online “community”. By seeking out websites, forums, groups, chats, and other online applications that are parallel to our interests we achieving that perfect fit we all desire and thanks to the unlimited variation in website types we are all able to find that perfect fit we all desire (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012).
Other major factors on our sense of belonging to community are also fulfilled through the internet. Such as our ability to cause social action through the click of a mouse or a tap of the finger. Previously, if someone was hurt and a fundraising campaign was started there would be forms to fill out, bake sales were planned, flyers put up, phone calls were made, and articles taken out in papers, nowadays we just start a gofundme page. It used to be if a journalist said something we didn’t agree with letters were wrote, angry phone calls were made, and general griping among friends occurred over drinks or dinner, nowadays journalists are fired because a tweet is trending or a Facebook post receives a large amount of likes. While I’m not saying that our newfound community is necessarily a bad thing, I am saying that it has changed. Instead of going out and directly interacting with others in our proximal community face-to-face, instead our community is more indirect, over a vast distance, and to a degree less personal all while achieving the psychological fulfillment that we crave.
Schneider, F.W, Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Psychology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Tags: Community, community psychology, online, technology
I like how you pointed about fundraisers and how they are pretty virtual now. Not many exist where you see the person fundraising face to face. Rarely is anyone knocking on my door (except of course our local friendly girl scout cookie crew) to raise money for their cause. Of course it’s a great way to earn money quickly and efficiently for those who are fundraising online, but for me, I feel like it robs one of the realness of the person the fundraising is for. I’ve attended a few community fundraisers for kids where the child (if they can be) is present. If the child can’t be present, typically the family affected by the situation is. Interacting with others face to face is so important to me, especially if I am supporting a cause I love to see where the money is going. I also love how you pointed out about children outside. Parks are so empty compared to when I was younger, unless of course it’s sport season and around where I live, the ball fields are never empty. But on an everyday basis, the parks are bare and the swings are still. Outside doesn’t seem to be a priority for many families anymore. When so much of a person’s life is run via cell tower or WIFI, I have to wonder, have humans lost touch with intentional adventurous living? Great post! I really enjoyed reading your perspectives of the technological community realm.
I was born in 1992 however I remember the days where if I wanted to see if a friend could play I would run to their house in our neighborhood and ring the doorbell. When class assignments came out in September I would use our wall-mounted cord phone to call my friends to see which class they were in. The closest thing I had to technology might have been my Tamagotchi toy or my cd player which came hand in hand with my briefcase that held over 20 other cds. I would continue talking about this simply because it brings back great memories but also simplicity which I miss so much due to the fast changes occurring in our society.
As you mentioned, direct person-to-person interaction was always used to organize activities. Now things are done solely via text, which means there is often miscommunication and tone of voice is often misinterpreted. In regard to going door-to-door in comparison to Facebook I am currently in that situation. My father has Alzheimer’s, so I registered a team in his name to walk at an event. I have had many donations so far and have reached a wide audience of family, friends, and friends of friends. However, this was all done via Facebook and other social media platforms. I live in a small neighborhood and the organization has options for check donations so if I could I could walk door to door, but I haven’t; and quite frankly I probably haven’t done something like that since I was a Girl Scout or looking to sell wrapping paper.
I am thankful that the internet provides a space where everyone can find their “perfect fit” however I think this can lead to, and already has, isolation. Especially amongst young adults. Instead of socializing with others in their community, they socialize through the computer with what they now see as their true reality. A space where they feel they have a connection and place.
In response to your statement about someone being hurt; in my community there is a young boy who is two years old. His parents took him in for what they thought was an earache and turned out to be a form of cancer. Solely through the internet (Facebook, Instagram, and GoFundMe) over 100 thousand dollars has been raised. I truly believe that without the internet this money would not have been raised so quickly. In sum, I agree with you that there are pros and cons to both however I think we are quickly slipping away from having any direct person-to-person contact and that is frightening.