Virtual Communities are an Illusion :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Virtual Communities are an Illusion Discussions of the social effects of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and virtual community often focus on whether they pull people apart or bring them together. John Perry Barlow describes his point of view on this matter in a very enlightening article, Is There a There in Cyberspace?. Barlow first describes his skepticism about virtual communities and finishes the article with a life altering tragedy. Amy Bruckman, who is responsible for the article, Finding Ones Own in Cyberspace explains the importance of discovering a virtual community that best suits your needs. I feel that virtual communities and CMCs bring people together but also pull them apart more then together. In Barlows article, he describes how cyberspace has created its own community, or virtual community if you will, by bringing people together with common interests and experiences. Like the community in contemporary America, virtual communities had a place where peoples hearts remained even if they physically moved around the country. The virtual community also provides a feeling of comfort from this large support group-like place where tragedies one may encounter, are experienced throughout and are solved by all. When Barlow experienced the sudden death of his wife, he had this to say about his virtual community, Those strangers, who had no arms to put around my shoulders, no eyes to weep with mine, nevertheless saw me through. As neighbors do. This is the idea of a coming together, from a virtual community standpoint. One thing that Barlow points out about virtual communities is that they lack prana (the Hindu term for breath and spirit). He says, Prana is, to my mind, the literally vital element in the holy and unseen ecology of relationship...It is at the heart of the fundamental and profound difference between information and experience. This is what brings human relationships together. The body language, sex, tone of voice, smells, facial expressions, etc. are the things that make life, life! These missing ingredients still lack in virtual communities to this day. According to Bruckmans article, she explains how to find a virtual community that best suits ones needs. Some of the things she suggests for a virtual community can be easily correlated to finding a neighborhood where one would like to reside. The main determining factor she points out is self selection. As individuals, we know what we want/dont want, like/dislike, so the decision is up to us to decide where we want to go.