Loneliness, Stigma, and Online Connection for the Sexually Marginalized

by dmw5442 | Mar 31, 2022 | Uncategorized

Adults who are a part of sexually marginalized groups (individuals whose sexual preferences are outside of the mainstream) find connection via online communities. For example furries, individuals who like dressing up as animals, partake in online communities in addition to the face-to-fact connection they get when attending their annual Furry convention, which takes place in Pittsburgh. When I was a teenager catching the bus to high school, I always wondered why a bunch of adults were walking around in animal costumes until one day a classmate jokingly explained that they were “furries”. Quite a few Google searches later, I had my first introduction to alternative sexualities and the communities they need to feel the acceptance that most people receive regularly.

Online communities for sexually marginalized groups create a sense of belonging for people in whose real world communities do not have a lot of individuals with similar unique interests. In most cases, online communities cannot replace the real world, face-to-face connection needed by most people, but if you are a member of a marginalized community that is very rare, it can be hard to find the acceptance one needs to feel fully whole and connected, especially if there’s a constant need to hide your identity.

Being members of stigmatized groups is incredibly isolating and lonely. Per Goffman’s research “a stigmatizing characteristic would often function as a master status, that is , a dominant prism through which other people judge the individual, discarding or ignoring other statuses or roles the individual might have.(Gruman et all, 2016)” The fear of being stigmatized in ones face-to-face community means that like social exchange theory posits, individuals from marginalized sexual groups can easily calculate the costs of publicly sharing their fetishes with the world and often choose to hide them within their community to avoid the negative reactions of, and further isolation from, their face-to-face community.

One element I’m curious about, is the rate at which people find long term relationship partners through these groups. It’s logical that those with very specific sexual interests find a partner who is also willing to engage in those activities, so the likelihood of finding a partner, thus minimizing loneliness and isolation, must be quite high.

Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2016). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (3rd ed.) [E-book]. SAGE Publications, Inc.

Benefits of Online Communities

by Jenna Whitmer | Mar 31, 2022 | Uncategorized

Online Communities is an easy way for people to keep in contact. Online work spaces provide a virtual space for people who work together to meet, share files and work collaboratively. They include features such as virtual meetings using online conferencing and VoIP including virtual whiteboards, email, chat, shared folders and files, and online applications. 

VLE’s provide information to help students learn, for example access to additional notes and homework in school or remotely from home as long as they have an internet connection. They also allow teachers to work collaboratively to create high quality learning material. They include features such as: timetable/news for staff and students, marking tools for teachers, email and chat communication, progress tracking features, personalization for individuals, interactive polls and questionnaires, facility for students to contribute to blogs and personalize their own space.

Social Networking is an online community where members can come together and communicate. Users may create a profile, add friends and talk to other members in a variety of ways. Examples may include LinkedIn, which is aimed at business people with advice given by industry experts. Another example is Bebo, which is aimed at younger teens with areas for gaming and music videos. Another example is Instagram, which is aimed at people who want to share images to an audience. Last example is Facebook, which is aimed at all ages and genders, enables people to share things and like things and write posts.

Teleworking is working at home, but staying in touch with others with the help of technology. There are many advantages to teleworking. It saves money and reduces pollution, since there is no need to travel for work. The work is flexible and people can work when and where they like. There is increased productivity, because there is less time lost traveling.

Gruman, J.A.,Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

The Dangers of Online Communities

by Madison Supplee | Mar 31, 2022 | Uncategorized

The internet can be a wonderful place to make friends, meet new people, sell goods and clothing, get ideas for new projects, and even form communities of like-minded people. While the internet can provide many positives for people, especially those who are more secluded in their daily lives and wish to make more friends, it can also be a dangerous place.

First, the loosened social norms that follow along with the internet because of its anonymity can allow individuals the space to bully others, partake in groupthink, and create false worldviews. Often individuals online forget that they’re not entirely anonymous and that they can be traced and found especially by those that are experienced with the internet.  People often use their own addresses, names, e-mails, all of which can be traced back to reveal the identity of the person which can cause many issues such as having your identity stolen, having your money taken, and even more physical issues if you happened to upset the wrong person.

Not only can individuals become subjected to those kinds of issues, but online communities also allow individuals to partake in groupthink and participate in many confirmation-bias types of research. As we have all seen, Covid-19 and the 2020 election have caused a lot of political issues and have polarized many people. While there have been political issues on both sides, authors, Bliuc et. al., 2020, discussed the significant increase in far-right extremists. The authors stated that these individuals with similar ideologies form online communities of like-minded people to validate and support one another which can be particularly dangerous. Bliuc et. al., 2020, also stated that “From a psychological point of view, these communities can become central to people’s self-definition and further shape their behaviours in significant ways beyond the online domain. According to social psychological theory, group membership is particularly important in relation to radicalization and the perpetration of political violence, because the group provides individuals with a framework of meaning that is aligned to violent action on behalf of a collective group goal.”

There are many reasons why one would want to use the internet. From meeting new people to online shopping the internet provides individuals with many opportunities. However, access to the internet should also come with responsibility and maturity. Literacy in the news is essential now as there are so many conflicting reports out there about what’s going on and it’s important that people are able to dissect those reports and judge what they feel is important and truthful.

Bliuc, A.-M., Betts, J., Vergani, M., Iqbal, M., & Dunn, K. (2020, May 14). The growing power of online communities of the extreme-right: Deriving strength, meaning, and direction from significant socio-political events ‘in real life’. ICCT. Retrieved March 31, 2022, from https://icct.nl/publication/the-growing-power-of-online-communities-of-the-extreme-right-deriving-strength-meaning-and-direction-from-significant-socio-political-events-in-real-life/

Distorted Sense of Community

by Erin Connell | Mar 31, 2022 | Uncategorized

I still live in the community that I grew up in.  Being here for over 40 years, I have seen things change, some for the better, some for the worse.

Growing up, a large part of my membership in the community was centered around Church.  Church was extremely important to me; we’d attend every Sunday.  As I got older, I began to participate in youth group and sing in the choir – something I did until I was about 40 years old.  I became involved with many volunteer groups, some of which I still participate in today.  The Church community was almost like a second family, everyone was made to feel welcome, and every effort was made to help and encourage those who needed it.  Although religion is still very important to me, several years ago I became seriously disenchanted with the community aspect.

There are two aspects of the Church community that were very important to me.  The first was a “sense of emotional safety” (Gruman et. al 2017).  When I was in church, or participating in a church activity, or just interacting with the community it felt safe and I had an overwhelming sense of “belonging”.  The second was a “shared emotional connection” which I could attribute to the bonds formed through shared experiences and beliefs (Gruman et. al 2017).  Unfortunately, as I got older, many of these bonds disintegrated.

I feel that the “sense of community” that once existed in my small town (and potentially everywhere) has significantly declined in the past several years.  We used to have large community events that everyone attended.  Money for these events was never a problem because everyone was happy to donate time or treasure to ensure community involvement.  Today, many of these events no longer exist, primarily due to lack of interest.  Instead of a cohesive community, there are splits, divisions and cliques that keep to themselves and sometimes look down upon others.  It’s extremely disheartening.

Although I had not really though about it before, politics has been a major cause of this.  The political climate in the country has been mirrored in my town.  For many years, we had a Republican controlled town council that started many positive projects, but also had serious budget overruns and failed to complete many tasks that were started.  A grassroots movement in town became tired of this and we now have a Democrat controlled council.  Although fundamentally this is a normal change, politics and the divisions created have seeped into every aspect of the community, further dividing people.

What I will refer to as self-absorption has also played a role in the decline of my community.  One positive thing I will say is that there are many volunteer groups in town that do help a number of people and causes.  Unfortunately, many of these groups seem to be doing this for the sake of “likes” on social media or the enrichment of a group of volunteers.  This “grandstanding” is looked down upon by many, making them reluctant to volunteer lest they be associated with that culture.

It is unfortunate that my children have not been able to experience the sense of community that I had when growing up.  As a global community of human beings, we need to get back to basics and think about more about community success than individual achievement.

Gruman, J.A.,Schneider, F.W., & Coutts, L.A. (2017). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.