This week: Does the Internet promote community?

The Internet is Marshall McLuhan's "Global Village" brought to life. Twenty years ago, who would have predicted our ability to easily prank order a pizza for a stranger in a foreign country? But there's something eerie about McLuhan's village: no one is in the streets. In dorm rooms and apartment buildings across the world, people ten feet apart would rather cyber-chat than just ... chat. So we ask you: Has the Internet stripped us of our most basic communication skills? Have you found community on the Internet? What are the best uses of this new communication medium?

Here's what Tripod members said.

Madsearcher: The Internet allows me to stay in touch with old and new friends, which is economically sound for me at this time. However, after I graduate, I will have to pay for the services, which will be a challenge. Which brings me to my point: In the truest sense of community, this technology has and will continue to perpetuate class differences. Although there are exceptions (such as a person I know who lives in his car yet has computers and works to donate computers to 'needy' families), only people who can afford the technology will be able to benefit from it, and those that cannot afford it are at a loss. It is scary to think that in the near future, the Internet may be the only means of communication, yet the rural communities will not be able to communicate as well as those urban areas that have better access to the technology.

Brian W. Carver: It is true that right now the Internet is only available to a certain economic class, but that is rapidly changing. Programs to put it in every school and public library are being discussed and Sony just released Web-TV which allows those without computers to still have access via this new kind of television. Few people today consider televisions classist, and Web-TV is not unreasonably priced, even now.

And while people one dorm room apart may send e-mail rather than go next door, eventually if they get along they are extremely likely to arrange a real-life encounter. I've met many people and made friends through e-mailing that I would have never met in my daily life. The Internet itself is neither good nor bad. What we decide to do with it will determine its value.

Loron: I find that cyber talk has brought the world together, and we really see ourselves as one community. It's great. Yes, it is a different kind of relationship than any we have had before, but it is a real one nonetheless. It must all be kept in perpective.

Reeve: Progress and the Industrial Revolution long ago broke apart families and communities. If it's progress and modern culture that's partly responsible for my living 3,000 miles away from my family, then I think it's great that technology can give me back the means to have a virtual chat with my dad or mom. E-mail messages are different than phone calls; they are the virtual equivalent of stopping in the kitchen for a snack and chatting with whoever's reading the paper at the kitchen table. I used to be a bit of a luddite. But after recently discovering the Internet and e-mail, I feel like I have recovered the sense of community that technology itself took away from us in the first place. I think it's great to be able to communicate with friends in the cursory manner that e-mail and chat rooms afford. Long, thorough phone conversations are great, but sometimes you just want to be brief and let someone know you're there and thinking of them.

One thing I think we have to be aware of: All this technology was meant to lighten our workload, but it seems that people now just cram three days of work into one, just because it is possible. However, I'm not so sure our psychic capacity for production is or should be able to keep up with technological abilities. I think workaholic types should be sure to keep that in mind.

zeeman: Technology is no worse than the humans that use it. You can always go next door and share that outrageously funny story that your e-mail bud from Tokyo sent you yesterday. While you're next door, be sure to get your neighbor's e-mail address and invite her over for some electronic fun.

gailwind: While we may not go next door and have a cup of coffee with our neighbor, I do believe that the Internet and computers in general are a great equalizer. By that I mean that age, gender, disability, etc., do not matter when you are on the Net or in a virtual reality setting. As long as there is free public access, the children of today are learning to look past the visual, first impressions, make friends based on common experiences and interests, and to problem-solve in ways that we never thought possible.

FrutLoop: The Internet is, in my opinion, a wonderful thing allowing people to communicate to each other all around the world. Many people complain that the Internet is too expensive, but many of those use the Internet thru an online service such as America Online. Many ISPs provide high speed Internet connection at a monthly rate, and don't charge by the hour. As for communication, the Internet isn't my life, so I talk to friends and neighbors also.

williamsl: The Internet is a wonderful tool that is indeed addictive. When I first found the Net I spent 'virtually' all of my time in the ether, neglecting the 'real' people around me. Then I found myself 'talking' to other people online and slowly but surely many lasting friendships have resulted. Since then I have learned to reduce the amount of time I spend frollicking on the Net. I was involved in a brutal car wreck a few years ago and most of the people I had befriended over the Internet came to see me while I was in the hospital recovering.

blueboomerang: Neo-Luddites are misguided with their concerns about the usefulness of technological progress, because in general, people invent devices that make it easier for others to operate in this increasingly complex world. Technology has its negatives; for example, it allows people with sick minds to access child pornography on the Net. However, the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

As for the bringing the community together, technology is not the culprit, and could possibly work to bring the community together even closer. The community dispersed before the advent of the Internet facility, so it is not the sole perpetrator. The reason for community dispersion and isolation is related to an increasingly uncertain and materialistic world and has little to do with technology.

quanta: In addition to being able to maintain closer ties with family and friends that are geographically dispersed, there are several experiences I've had that demonstrate the sense of community than can arise from this medium. One was in a wine-aging experiment a number of years ago in which a group of us from around the world purchased two cases of wine and gathered for an online tasting every six months for six years to evaluate how the wines aged. It bacame a special occasion for catching up wherever we got together.

A second has been participation in various study groups; one of which included a Californian, a Virginian, two Canadians, an Australian and myself working together on group assignments. They are people I still have some contact with.

A third is participation in a couple of e-mail discussion groups where strong personal friendships have formed because of the feeling of being connected through various life events experienced by the members of the group. These are the things that create the bonds of community, and this medium has its own unique ways of forming them.

---

Tripod Home | New | TriTeca | Work/Money | Politics/Community | Living/Travel | Planet T | Daily Scoop

Map | Search | Help | Send Us Comments