Community Groups
Let us explore one of the political implications of all this, namely, community groups. The internet is not the first institution to be accused of bringing out and reinforcing dreadfully individualistic tendencies. American democracy itself has always been seen as a rather unfortunate feeder of over-individualism, as well as tyranny of the majority (although checks and balances have served us fairly well on that front). Does the internet only ingrain these problems, or can it offer a way to solve or at least bypass them? According to the almighty Wikipedia, Tocqueville thought that association, the coming together of people for common purpose, would bind Americans to an idea of nation larger than selfish desires, thus making a civil society which wasn’t exclusively dependent on the state.
Wellman points out ways in which networked individualism can help at least some sociopolitical problems: “At times, the Internet’s lack of communicative richness can foster contact with more diverse others. The lack of social and physical cues on-line makes it difficult to find out if another online community member has similar social characteristics or attractive physical characteristics. Asynchronous communication gives participants more control over the timing and content of their self-disclosures. This allows specialized relationships to develop from shared interests rather than be stunted at the onset by differences in social status. This focus on shared interests rather than on similar characteristics can be especially empowering for members of lower-status and disenfranchised groups.” For my part, I see the internet as being more shaped by our “selfish desires” than ameliorating them. However, it is one of the most important institutions that is both unusually free from the controls of the government and is a thriving civil society thriving because of it.
