The Online Community

Anyone who says that the world hasn't changed in the past 20 years is lying. Obviously, the technological advances that have occurred and continue to occur as time passes by in incredible and almost mind-blowing. I look at the differences just between a generation gap of me and my mom, and the challenges she faces are problems I could easily solve by doing a quick Google search. We rely on the internet not only to solve our problems, but to interact and to communicate. The communities we create online are extensions of our real-life communities, and they provide ways for us to easily ask and answer questions.

These are the groups I'm a member of on Facebook. Most of them have to deal with BYU - including my ward, my major, my minor, and clubs I've joined. There's also groups for my friends getting married and groups from my mission. These are all extended resources for groups I've made in real life. This allows us to be a community from the easiness of opening up our laptop or pulling up the pages on our smart phone. 

I just moved into my ward this winter, so I don't personally know everyone yet. However, because I am a part of the Facebook page, I can still have my voice be heard to everyone in our ward. We're able to make plans and give announcements that would be extremely difficult to get out if we didn't have to Facebook page. 

Here is the screenshot of the homepage of my ward page.  Our community started out as a group of people who share the same beliefs and are religious, and it transferred to an online community where we can make plans together for the weekend or ask each other for favors. Without Facebook, I don't think either of these people would have gone around to each house in my ward and asked people if they have a mouse pad or want to go on a hike. But because of the simpleness of the online community, it was made possible. 

While we still have the in-person community, the online group is just a further extension of our already-established community that allows for easy communication to everyone in the group. Online communities are almost essential now, and it's hard to function without being able to have a group online. I don't think one limits each other, but rather they build off of each other.