Howard Reingold’s, “The Virtual Community” informs us of WELL which is the Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link. WELL allows people around the world to interact via email and carry on public conversations. The virtual communities through WELL are like “real life” with WELL marriages, birth, and funerals. It all seems so strange, but the reality of it all, it is really not. Virtual communities enable us to do the same thing in real life except “leaving our bodies behind.” Virtual communities can be used as a form of psychotherapy, but some tend to get addicted spending 80 hours a week pretending to be someone else. These “MUDS” are getting banned at colleges. Reingold argues that CMC, computer-mediated communications, has the potential to change our lives on three different levels. The first level is that individuals with our thoughts, perceptions, and personalities are affected by the ways we use the medium. The second level is the possible change of person-to-person interaction, such as relationships between others occurs. The third level is the possible change in our lives through politics. CMC and WELLS have a strong effect on our lives whether we know it or not. An example I found on YouTube is a first hand perspective of virtual communities. One individual spoke of being apart of virtual communities, because it is a feeling of not being alone. He said, “I can just turn off the computer when I want to.” Being apart of a virtual community is a sense of control that a lot of people thrive on. Many people said it is a means of relating with others, and feeling a closeness that some real life people in their lives do not share with them. I do agree with Reingold’s argument of the effects and levels that CMC provides. However, I feel that being apart of a virtual community is losing one’s own privacy. I also feel that it can get very addicting and allow some to stray away from “real life” and be strapped down to their computer. I feel that people have a right to do what they want and spend their time freely, but I really think people should consider virtual community as a means of isolation that can take a toll on their real-life social skills.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpHKt1IkxqA
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I thought your example was really good. You mentioned in your blog that you felt that in virtual communities you lose a sense of privacy. This is a good point but I think the guy in your example is arguing that this can be viewed as a good thing. He says his friends online know him better than any of his friends in real life. Being able to let your guard down online helps others get to know you better. May this be for better or worse it is one way that these virtual communities effect our lives.
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