Ever since the first computer came out to when the first iPhone came out, technology has been evolving non-stop and will continue to do this as we speak. The habits that consumers and users of technology and the web will always be changing as well and new habits will be developed. As time goes on, consumers are spending more time on their digital devices than in reality and digital communities are growing. For example, not many people meet face-to-face to discuss a matter. We use something called digital communities.
One method that consumers use in both the physical world and virtual world would be “Identification by Sympathy.” This is when we have something to like in common. (Wiesinger, p.75) A physical world example would be when a group agrees what kind of movie they will watch. All members in the group can agree on one thing. This is a tricky concept to explain because in the virtual world, we can choose to follow a friend on social media that we expect to have similar views. When your views are contradicted, then this will change. On social media, you may follow a lot of people, but there are only certain people that you pay closer attention to because they post things you like to see and you agree with them. The people you disagree with, you will tune them out.
A second method that consumers use is “Identification by Antithesis” which we dislike something in common with another person. This method is similar to the method above. In the physical world an example of this is a group of people don’t like the same type of food and you agree to get something that everyone does like. In the virtual world, you follow people on social media that have similar interests as you and people who are opposed to the same things as you are. This is very common in this year’s election cycle because you can follow pages that post more liberal news, or the opposite, which would be more conservative news. By doing this, you will only see information that you agree on.
According to Wiesinger p.76, on social media, consumers are using another a third called, “Identification Through Transcendence.” This is referred to as identifying something larger than ourselves and it gives us a strong feeling or freedom, which makes us feel good inside. An example of this is when we post a photo on social media and we get several hundred likes. By posting this photo, that feeling of transcendence is with us and we feel confident with all the positive comments from our friends and followers. This would be a virtual world example. A physical world example would be if you are standing on a mountaintop and you feel power like you are “on top of the world.”
In digital communities, they are similar to physical communities in some ways. There are two schools of thought when it comes to this. One school of thought would be a utopian point of view, which would be assume that everything is perfect in both communities. (Wiesinger, p.77) In reality, this is not true. This point of view would be that both communities are nonjudgmental, welcoming, uncritical and places where appearance is not an issue.
Another school of thought would be the point of view from an active participant. They are the ones that are more realistic in today’s society. They think that both communities are judgmental, territorial and the participant is part of a hierarchy based on the time and participation in the community, they are skeptical of newcomers and appearance does matter a whole lot. (Wiesinger p. 77)
In 2016, so far 78% of Americans have a social media profile on social media, according to statista.com. This is a five percent growth from the last several years. This makes the social media usage high in digital communities. One of the characteristics that exist in digital communities are control measures. This means that we are subject to the rules and regulations that govern a community. This is similar to if you go to any of the government sponsored programs, such as AA, anonymity is guaranteed. As members of the community, they should plan to keep everything discussed in the meetings confidential. This can also be tied to the characteristic, “risk to community.” These are groups that discuss a wide range of issues affecting society, such as mental illness, homelessness and economic problems. Some people will want to contribute to helping people for these causes, others do will just be an observer on the digital community and not take any action.
In the virtual world, anonymity exists, especially in chat rooms, and information can travel more rapidly than by word of mouth. In the virtual world, you are governed by online sites with their user agreements. If theses rules are not followed, you will most likely to asked to leave the community.
Another characteristic would be participation. In physical communities, participation is based on your will. For example, only 42% of Americans voted in the 2014 elections, according to Aljazeera.com. That doesn’t seem very much based on the amount of people in this country let alone the millions of people that live here. Voting is aggressively encouraged in this country between all the “get out the vote campaigns” and voter registration drives that take place on college campuses. Online communities, participation is voluntary and not expected, according to Wiesinger, p. 80. Most of these online communities have a demanding environment, which makes it harder not to participate. Content is controlled on your social media feeds, but the site usually controls it most of the time.
A third characteristic is technology. People in both communities will sometimes say that technology can or cannot help them solve their problems. Physical problems such as addiction and violence usually do not have the ability to improve just by using the internet. (Weisnger, p. 80) A good majority of problems can at least be partially helped by the internet but not always. A common thing consumers can experience is “technopoly,” which is the expectation that when having a problem, you can expect to see an immediate result. 13% of Americans do not use the internet, according to Pew Research Center. Most of this group is senior-citizens and some people that are uneducated.
In conclusion, whether you are using a physical and virtual community, each one is different depending on the person. Whether you are trying to solve a health problem or get advice on the next car you would like to buy, each has it positives and negatives. Through the use of technology and day to day interactions with others, you will need to choose which is best for you.
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