Preview

The Impact of Online Communities on Physica Social Relationships

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1405 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Impact of Online Communities on Physica Social Relationships
Abstract
Nowadays, people spend much time in online communities to network with virtual friends and play role plays. They provide an advantage for people with special needs who cannot leave the house, because they benefit from the accessibility of the internet. Moreover, they help people who often move to stay in touch with their friends. Nevertheless, spending too much time in online communities leads to drawbacks in the development of the user’s personality. More energy is dedicated to the virtual life than to real life and people lose track of their personalities while busy building online ones. Also, frequent users of online communities have difficulties beginning meaningful real life relationships. Virtual friendships are shallow due to the physical distance and the anonymity of the internet and it is common to have more friends than you are able to care for. Therefore, it is more rewarding to invest into physical relationships.

Virtual friendships Danger of online communities Anonymity of internet

The Effects of Online Communities on Physical Social Relationships
Introduction
Meeting for an after-work drink at the pub, going to yoga classes twice a week and having coffee with the ladies afterwards, organizing events for your local church community – all of those are only examples of what you can do with friends. At all times, relationships consisted of activities and common experiences which form an unforgettable bond between people. Sharing a memory gives a feeling of belonging and is something that can be laughed and talked about still a long time after the experience. However, times have changed.
Nowadays, it seems to be common to solely communicate with people over the internet. First, there were e-mails and chat rooms and now many so-called online communities can be found in the world wide web. People meet online to run blogs, meaning online diaries, share information and photos, exchange Youtube videos or unionize in a



References: Computer Industry Almanac Inc. (2007, February 12). Worldwide internet users top 1.2 billion in 2006. Retrieved April, 20, 2008, from http://www.c-i-a.com/pr0207.htm Das Internet als soziales Erlebnis. [The internet as a social experience]. (2007, June 4). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 127, 31. Erbe, B. (2007, September 10). A real downside to virtual relationships. Retrieved April 21, 2008, from http://www.usnews.com/blogs/erbe /2007/9/10/a-real-downside-to-virtual-relationships.html Hayes, R. (1984). Friendship behaviors. Retrieved April 20, 2008, from http://family.jrank.org/pages/660/Friendship-Benefits-Friendship.html Lovenberg, F. von (2007, November 10). Und wann steigen Sie aus? [And when will you drop out?]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 262, Z1. Scribner, R. (2007, June 11). ‘Second Life’ presents societal dangers. Retrieved April 21, 2008, from http://media.www.reflector-online.com/media/ storage/paper938/news/2007/11/06/Opinion/second.Life.Presents. Societal.Dangers-3079650-page2.shtml Second Life. (2008). What is Second Life?. Retrieved April, 8, 2008, from http://secondlife.com/whatis Warford, H. (n.d.). Virtual vs. real communities [Msg 5]. Message posted to http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/site/tionline/menuitem.130a35585 87d56e8fb2275875bac26c8/index.jsp?&p Name=institute_level1_article& TheCat=1021&article=tionline/legacy/inst2007/may07/marketplaceques.x ml&

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the introduction to her book, The “Tethered Self: Technology Reinvents Intimacy and Solitude” (2001), Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor suggest that the online personas have negative effects on the growth of a healthy individual, healthy relationships, and a healthy community. The technology itself and the online personas provide the society a troubling effect.…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, in realistic, they still feel lonely when they are alone. Individuals do not have virtually connected in the real world and they need to face the truth or problems around them. Thus, it is easily to lose identity and only stay in the fake world. They begin to cater others and change their identities. Individuals increase the virtual intimacy in online world but may get further in the real interpersonal network.…

    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a recent study conducted by Matthew Brashears of Cornell University, 2,000 adults were asked the number of friends whom they share a close relationship with. The average response was 2.03 and it decreased from a similar study from 1985, which received an average response of three close friends (Silard. “From Face-to-Face to Facebook”). It is proven that humans thrive on human interaction, so cutting that face-to-face off could damage humans negatively by causing them to suffer more health problems due to physical inactivity and no interaction. “People who, like the Facebook COO, claim that we have never been so connected with each other are missing a vital point: the people making all these "connections" through the Internet and social media are, in the non-virtual plane sometimes referred to as "reality," sitting alone in front of a pixelated screen.” (Silard.). Even though we are able to interact with different of people from around the world, we become isolated from the people around us. People cut off their friends and family and would rather spend time on the…

    • 889 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In her essay “Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism, Christine Rosen explores and comments on the various ways social networking sites have affected how users interpret and define a relationship. Rosen starts by comparing how our modern day social media pages are no different from the painted portraits of the people from the past. Rather than the painters retouching their work to define an image, we now update, tweak and post specific things on our “online” self-portraits to display who we are. Rosen concludes that the reason we create and tweak online profiles is to find friendship, love, and ultimately acceptance.…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Who would have thought 50 years ago that a person could socialize with complete strangers across the world with just the click of a button? The web is full of useful and important scholarly information, but it’s not just about business and education. Along with posting pictures, videos, and blogs, the web is available for a plethora of other options. It’s full of fun sites for people of all ages and with different interests. One way to enjoy the web is to visit a social networking site. Sites such as Facebook, Zorpia, Friendster, and Bebo allow you to personalize a profile, join groups, share thoughts and pictures, and add different applications. Online communities are created by people connected together to share common interests, goals, and purposes. With technology advancing at such a steady rate, the future possibilities of the social web are endless. Although these sites are full of interesting things to do, there are also some downfalls to having an account online, such as…

    • 2686 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Are Preterm Children At Risk Of Developing More Dental Caries Compared To Full Term Children? A Systematic Review…

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most of the people with whom we communicate online are people we already know offline, people do meet and form relationships over the Internet. Online dating services offer the possibility of new kinds of romantic attachments. Chat rooms and discussion groups provide places to share information with new acquaintances. And social networking services make it possible to collect hinders of Internet “friends.” Other media such as cell phones, text message systems, email, and instant messaging (IM) are an integral part of everyday interactions. Nowadays, few, if any, relationships are conducted solely offline (p.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The Internet is an incredible invention. It brings a whole world of information to our fingertips. It can literally connect us with people across the globe; people who we otherwise would never have the opportunity to connect with. However, as Dr. Alex Lickerman shares in an article on Psychology Today.com, “even as the Internet has shrunk the world and brought us closer together, it is threatening to push us further apart”. The threat, the danger, is that Internet connection with whole world will ultimately disconnect us from the most important and vital relationships in our lives.…

    • 2464 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    It has now become easier for people to meet new friends on online platforms. The patience that is required to build a long lasting relationship is no longer there. Traditionally, people would spend days and even months trying to get to know each other. This was not done over the phone but through face-to-face interactions that made it possible for people to learn each other. This helped to grow the relationship from one level to another. However, the Internet has made it impossible for people to connect in real life. People are excited to meet other people online and they spend hours chatting on these platforms but never really get to know the person they are chatting with (Parasar). It becomes hard for such individuals to held real discussions when they meet face to face because they have become used to chatting online. The reason why many relationships are failing is because people have lacked the patience required to nurture a relationship. The Internet has led to the erosion of a foundation upon which a relationship can be built. People are quick to walk away from relationships and even marriages because they accessed information online on how to deal with their relationships. Communication has been greatly affected by the advancement of the Internet. People have become more comfortable with expressing their emotions on social platforms than they are on face-to-face…

    • 1176 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In his book “The Wars”, author Timothy Findley presents several ways in which human beings commit atrocities against one another. Findley purposely documents these merciless incidents to symbolize the dark impulses and mistakes all human beings are capable of making. However, Findley also makes note of the good nature that lies within human beings. Despite his awareness of the sinister side to human beings, Findley demonstrates his underlying hope for mankind by cataloging various acts of morality and justice made by a range of characters in his story.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kjkkjk

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As use of computers in everyday life becomes more prevalent, online interaction has become a primary mode of communication. Though such interaction sometimes leads to isolation and even hostility, computers allow for useful and unifying communication between individuals.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Technology Good or Bad

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Technology is a great way to stay entertained but it is disconnecting people. Today’s Internet users have many ways to be occupied online. These days we have the ability to communicate on websites like facebook, ways to watch TV shows and clips mostly on YouTube, and play entertaining games like on addictinggames, all while on the computer. And we wonder why we have no in person friendships and dysfunctional families. Non-internet users spend 12.6 more minutes on average doing social activities, such as parties, sporting events, and person-to-person conversations (Nie and Hillygus). Internet users spend 34.3 minutes less than non-internet users with family and friends (Nie and Hilygus). Those who don’t…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ON THE INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS OF ISBB HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS…

    • 8548 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Internet is the biggest and the most effective provider of the variety of resources and services. It is a worldwide database of any information you may need. However, information is not the only thing you can obtain thanks to the Internet. The World Wide Web also provides you with the access to a wide range of computer programs, games or the possibility to download your favourite music or films. What is more, the Internet facilitates your contacts with other people. Not only can you easily and quickly contact them via emails but you can also speak to them, thanks to the Internet communications program. They have become very popular recently as they enable you to make new friends on-line. However, the paradox is that while they facilitate your communication with others, at the same time they cause the deterioration of your contacts and relationships since it is much easier to stay at home and talk to somebody on the Internet instead of going out and socializing. Moreover, on-line friendships can turn out dangerous as you can never be sure who the other person is. In addition, the Internet is very addictive. People never notice that they spend too much time in front of the computer screen and that they use the Internet more often than they really need. Surfing on the net becomes more important than meeting with friends or going to the classes at the university and the reality they start to live in is the virtual reality.…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    internet as an innovation

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages

    References: Bargh, J. & McKenna, K. (2004). The internet and social life. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 573-590. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141922…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays