Beyond the diluted community concept: a symbolic interactionist perspective on online social relations Export

@article{citeulike:2667613, abstract = {The study of cybercommunity is inevitably linked to the development of the internet amid other cultural phenomena, and cybercommunity as a cultural practice has clearly reached a point of critical mass. The concept of online community has become increasingly diluted as it evolves into a pastiche of elements that ostensibly signify' community. This study grapples with the concept of community in cyberspace and suggests alternative ways of characterizing online social relations that avoid the vagaries of community'. Based on interviews and a theoretical consideration of online community, it finds that the metaphor of community' in cyberspace is one of convenient togetherness without real responsibility. This study suggests a symbolic interactionist approach to the examination of online social relationships that is free of the controversy and structural-functional baggage of the term community'. It suggests that community is an evolving process, and that commitment is the truly desired social ideal in social interaction, whether online or offline. 10.1177/1461444807072417}, author = {Fernback, Jan}, citeulike-article-id = {2667613}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444807072417}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/1/49}, day = {1}, doi = {10.1177/1461444807072417}, journal = {New Media Society}, keywords = {community, cyber, cyberspace, interaction, internet, online, social, virtual}, month = {February}, number = {1}, pages = {49--69}, posted-at = {2008-04-14 13:59:46}, priority = {2}, title = {Beyond the diluted community concept: a symbolic interactionist perspective on online social relations}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444807072417}, volume = {9}, year = {2007} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:2667613 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2667613 N2 - The study of cybercommunity is inevitably linked to the development of the internet amid other cultural phenomena, and cybercommunity as a cultural practice has clearly reached a point of critical mass. The concept of online community has become increasingly diluted as it evolves into a pastiche of elements that ostensibly signify' community. This study grapples with the concept of community in cyberspace and suggests alternative ways of characterizing online social relations that avoid the vagaries of community'. Based on interviews and a theoretical consideration of online community, it finds that the metaphor of community' in cyberspace is one of convenient togetherness without real responsibility. This study suggests a symbolic interactionist approach to the examination of online social relationships that is free of the controversy and structural-functional baggage of the term community'. It suggests that community is an evolving process, and that commitment is the truly desired social ideal in social interaction, whether online or offline. 10.1177/1461444807072417 IS - 1 JF - New Media Society EP - 69 TI - Beyond the diluted community concept: a symbolic interactionist perspective on online social relations VL - 9 SP - 49 KW - community KW - cyber KW - cyberspace KW - interaction KW - internet KW - online KW - social KW - virtual AU - Fernback, Jan PY - 2007/02/01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444807072417 ER -