The Role Of Community In Aziz Ansari's Freakonomics

I agree with Anthony J D’Angelo’s belief that “without a sense of caring there can be no sense of community”, because the an inclusive environment is cultivated by people and their involvement. In other words, the sense of community is formed by the people's interest or care towards the subject,movement, idea, or organization and its members. People's actions propagate similar, but varied beliefs and grow ideas into movements.
Disconnected people don’t desire group interactions and therefore, do not contribute to a community. In an interview on Freakonomics, Aziz Ansari, a comedian and actor, discussed the lack of value placed on internet articles. Buying a book on Buzzfeed topics would be inane, but the website maintains popularity. Its audience does not require significant investments of time, or effort to read, but these uninvested members frequently fail to contribute to discussion. The shortage of interactions can fuel toxicity and dissolve initially welcoming environments.
In contrast, prideful and impassioned actions precipitate an inclusive communities. The YouTube channel Vlogbrothers acquired a following that heavily interacted virtually and in real life through charity foundations, conferences and educational channels like Crash Course. It fostered involvement and interaction transcending the virtual world through its passions of helping and educating others. In response to the active participation, awareness increased, and more people decided to join. This results in a positive feedback loop benefiting the channel by diversifying its population and ideas. When the original thoughts dissipate among the masses, the consensus will adapt to fit the majority’s view.
There is an opposing belief that virtual interactions can’t foster the emotional connection or involvement of a physical.
Malcolm Gladwell’s Small Change: The Revolution will not be Tweeted, corroborates this idea with an explanation of high risk and low risk activism. High risk activism is considered the only way to change the world and only achievable through interactions outside of a computer. This belief imposes the thought that no matter how much people care for a cause, without high risk in person activism, a community will never thrive. However, the ease that computers transmit information doesn’t appear detrimental to movements such as Black Lives matter, where both televised and social media increased awareness of the African Americans struggles with institutionalized racism. A small protest turned into the infamous Baltimore riots with an aftermath of reform in response to both the riots and the online criticisms given. Without the virtual input, the momentum would have
slowed.
The platform is irrelevant as long as the subject can harbor interest and action. The passion of people defines a community’s atmosphere, and when involvement is insufficient the concern cannot flourish into passion. A passionate individual will inspire others to mimic their devotion, thus disseminating the voice to others and expanding the idea. Thus, the community will incorporate more members.