Virtual Communities: Where They Stand

If it wasn't obvious yet, Virtual Communities stand at the top as one of the greatest influences of our society. It is impossible that something with the ability to rally together hundreds, to thousands, to millions of people, from anywhere in the world would not have a profound affect on our lives. Social power dynamics once depended on face-to-face interaction, but now one can have the power of many as others rally behind them. Our digital lives are built upon being able to communicate and share information with anyone in the world. First starting as a way to stay connected to people we knew, it evolved into a place where people could talk in real time, meet in virtual worlds, entertainment, and influences culture day to day.

From Wix

People gather together because they share a common interest, it brings them together where they can interact and build relationships. I think that the communities that have been created due to the presences of online influencers is an example that we can look at. The one that comes to mind for me is Mr. Beast and his #TeamTrees campaign, where for every dollar donated, they would plant a tree. Working with over 600 other influencers and their communities, they were able to surpass their goal of $20 million in just two months. Their communities have incredible amount of power. Looking back at the civil rights protest in 2020, without virtual communities, people don't have a platform where they can share their experiences of being racially discriminated and how badly things need to change. People have power together, and virtual communities give them the opportunity for it to be possible to use that power.

As for myself, I don't even know how many virtual communities that I am a part of. Some are with close friends that help me keep in contact with them when I am away at college. Some are for organizing meetups for hobbies. Virtual communities keep me up to date in what's happening within in my hobbies. I am confident that without them, there is a very good chance that I would have lost interest and dropped them because there was no one I could talk to about it. The Facebook and Reddit groups that I have joined have become hubs for people to post content about the things that they love, and I have the same interest as well. I don't really know anyone in the groups but it is the shared interests that draw us together and builds the communities. Our digital lives wouldn't be the same without them. As long as the internet exists and people are connected, virtual communities will be around connecting people from all over the world and giving people a place of belonging.